Mega Man Recut: Season 2
by BlackRussian
Summary: The Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon had it's highs and lows, from "Bro Bots" to "Curse of the Lion Men," this is season 2. Ruby-Spears Cartoon Mega Man retcon. Now airing Episode 14: Campus Commandos
1. Campus Commandos, Part 1

**Preface:**_ Mega Man Recut _is a Dark Comedy/Crime Story/Action-Adventure/Sci-fi Cartoon World Parody/Farce/Occasional Accidental Drama/But Mostly Farce retcon of the Ruby-Spears's _Mega Man_ cartoon. I've watched every episode forward and backwards hundreds of times, dissecting and reassembling each into the serialized format that lies before you. While I try to honor the original cartoon as closely as possible, I also take artistic license with characterizations, dialog, and continuity to create a fluid novelization. I'm writing this with fans of the old cartoon show in mind. If any of you are out there, I hope you enjoy it.

_Mega Man Recut_ takes place in a fictional universe parallel to Earth in the 1990s. Any resemblances to current or historical events are coincidental.

If you have never read_ Mega Man Recut,_ I do not recommend starting here, I recommend starting at season 1. If you like it, then work your way back up here, if you don't, well, sorry to waste your time, hope you find something else to read that is better suited to your tastes. For those of you who are return readers, welcome back, hope you're ready for another Ruby-Spears style trip, because it's time for—

**Episode 14: Campus Commandos**

It was the end of August, two months since Dr. Wily's last mission, of which he had returned from Wily Island defeated and in a hopping rage. The Robot Masters were spending another uneventful day in the armory waiting for Dr. Wily to call upon them for a mission. While many of the Robot Masters passed time by recharging, tuning up, training, or other constructive activities, Air Man, Crystal Man, Dust Man, Magnet Man and Ring Man had gathered around a table and were playing H.O.R.S.E.

"Anyone know if anything's going on upstairs yet?" asked Air Man as he dealt the cards between them.

"Dunno, Dr. Wily and Proto Man left again today. Had something to do with a new college for robotics," said Ring Man, scooping up his hand.

"Yeah, it's called Light University," joined in Crystal Man. "Dr. Wily took took Cut Man and Guts Man with him, which is too bad…they're always loose with their chips."

They all snickered, placed their first round of bets, then Air Man dealt the flop.

"Snake Man went too," said Ring Man. "He really wanted to go. At least, I think he wanted to go…that hissing makes him hard to understand."

They placed another round of bets.

"Wish we could have gone too, probably a lot of chicks there…" Ring Man continued. "But Proto Man wanted to keep the team small…said it was a dumb mission."

"Can't be any worse than his Wily's last mission," commented Air Man. "It never made it out of the South Pacific."

They placed the third round of bets. Magnet Man folded, then Air Man laid down the turn.

"Yeah, that was an embarrassing failure for Dr. Wily," said Crystal Man. "He was forced to get help from his archnemeses."

Ring Man snickered. "That's gotta hurt."

"Told 'em that island was cursed by aliens, but no one ever listens to ol' Dusty," muttered Dust Man, squinting at his hand.

Ring Man and Magnet Man exchanged glances with raised brows. "…Yeah, anyway, as I was saying, they've gone to conquer some college run by Dr. Light. Not sure why, Proto Man didn't say."

They completed one more round of betting (Air Man folded) then showed their cards, Ring Man winning the showdown. This didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone, as Ring Man was considered a shark at poker.

Ring Man smugly scraped the poker chips to his side of the table. He then picked up the deck and began shuffling in an ostentatious way that involved cutting the deck multiple times and flipping the cards around his fingers, showing off the legerdemain skills he had been programmed with when he was originally built to run a ring toss game at Fun World. When boredom was at an all time high, Ring Man had few pastimes at Skull Fortress: going A.W.O.L. with his best buddy Magnet Man to one of the local country villages to hit on fembots, playing cards, and taunting Elec Man, who was very stuck up and therefore a favorable target.

"Hello…Spanner. Ever think the Syndicate will come rescue you?" Ring Man called cooly as Elec Man passed the poker table, dealing the cards for another round.

The Steel Crescent Syndicate was one of the most feared crime organizations in the entire criminal underground, host of some of the most powerful and sinister Robot Masters ever to exist, and ruled by three crime bosses. Their major revenue came from extortion, under the table business deals, and casinos. Elec Man was one of the first Robot Masters Dr. Wily had stolen and reprogrammed. Though his memories of working with the Syndicate were completely scrambled, Elec Man still retained an attitude of contempt toward Dr. Wily and everyone loyal to him, and his current predicament remained a constant sore point for him. Ring Man, being a bit of a punk, always knew how to touch a nerve.

Elec Man froze, and gave Ring Man a cold look. "Let me put this in words you'll understand…get out of my face or I'll kill you."

Air Man and Crystal Man remained silent, pretending to be absorbed in their hands while casting surreptitious looks at Ring Man, clearly thinking it unwise to provoke Elec Man.

"Really? I heard you got defeated by a girl on your first mission with Dr. Wily," Ring Man jeered recklessly. "So tell me, what would happen if you disobeyed one of Wily's orders? Would your head explode?"

"I know carney robots are programmed to be stupid, but you should show more respect…I'm part of the Syndicate, we recycle robots like you daily for poker chips."

Ring Man snickered. "_Ex_-Syndicate. Now you're just Wily's little b—"

Magnet Man gave Ring Man a swift kick under the table. "Watch it," he warned.

"Why? He can't hurt us, he's not allowed too," retorted Ring Man.

Elec Man's eyes narrowed. Then, to the surprise of everyone there, he smiled, and took a seat on the poker table. "Deal me in."

Ring Man stared at him blankly. "Er...What?"

Elec Man continued smiling, with a small shrug. "I want to play."

Magnet Man looked from Ring Man to Elec Man, then dropped his hand on the table and stood up. "Fold."

"Yeah, me too."

"Ditto."

"Yup."

Ring Man was looking a little nervous as Air Man, Crystal Man, and Dust Man all threw down their cards and left the table, leaving him alone with Elec Man.

The challenge had attracted attention. Crash Man, Bomb Man, and Drill Man, who had all formally worked at Pfister Mining & Manufacturing, had gathered quietly to watch. Being industrial robots built for monotonous, high precision tasks that centered around productivity, they were fond of the quiet, efficient android who kept mostly to himself, and we're obviously rooting for Elec Man as they disliked Ring Man and Magnet Man, who they considered lazy mooches.

Elec Man gathered up the cards and began shuffling.

"I'm calling the game," said Ring Man quickly, feeling pressured by the watching Robot Masters to uphold his reputation.

"You can call whatever you want." Elec Man's shuffling wasn't as flashing as Ring Man's, but like his nature it was neat, calculated, professional, and seemingly effortless.

"Omaha."

"My favorite."

Ring Man noticed something different in Elec Man. First (and most strangely) he was in a good mood, but he also exhibited a strange sort of imposing cunning and subtle cruelty. Elec Man dealt the cards between them with lightening speed, and Ring Man hastily scooped up his hand.

Elec Man hadn't taken his eyes off Ring Man. "Don't worry. Poker is, at its core, a game of chance, after all...and I'm _sure _you don't cheat. We'll start the betting at one and go up from there."

Ring Man squinted at Elec Man."One dollar?"

"One grand."

"...uh."

Ring Man lost every single hand. The Pfister Robots, who normally did not care for these type of human activities, considered this a very satisfying match, and gave an impressed murmur when the game had ended. Elec Man had won all of Ring Man's money, his hoverboard, a TV and game system, and various other possessions.

"Since you have nothing else to bet other than the armor on your back, I think we'll call it quits then," said Elec Man pleasantly, standing up and tossing his hand back toward the deck.

"Yeah, whatever," grumbled Ring Man, shoving off moodily from the table.

* * *

Later, Elec Man looked over the pile of junk he had collected during the poker game, and sighed. "What am I supposed to do with all this shit?"

* * *

Though the hiatus from Dr. Wily's spree of crazy World Conquest schemes was welcome, Dr. Light found he did not have much time to relax, for he had spent the last couple of months embarking on a new enterprise.

Located just above the northern suburbs of New York City lay Light University, a brand new academy to meet the growing number of humans choosing careers in robotics. Many of the new students had either graduated or taken courses at the University of Robotics in downtown New York City, but Dr. Light had also accepted a few promising applicants straight out of high school.

The campus contained an assortment of laboratory buildings and lecture halls, all reflecting Dr. Light's taste in art deco. Its grounds were neat and fresh, covered in rolling lawns of rich green grass, leafy, sweet smelling shrubs, and freshly planted trees.

It was the day before classes started, and several hundred plastic folding chairs had been arranged in front of the University Centre (a stately neoclassic building of brown brick), and were packed with new students who had gathered to listen to an address from Dr. Light. Among the non-student attendees were Harold Hill, the mayor of New York City, and Bree Ricotta of Channel 3 News, who had shown up with Ted Graham (her usual cameraman) to cover the event.

Dr. Light stood at the podium on top of the temporary stage, and was wearing his best royal blue tie for the occasion.

"—And so, my fellow students, I am very proud to announce the grand opening of your new institution of higher learning, Light University!" Dr. Light was saying over the microphone, smiling proudly at the assembly. "I have opened my new campus for all of you to learn the many skills of the robo sciences, to help me continue my research, and complete some of my most promising inventions. After all, helping mankind is every robot's prime directive."

* * *

Dr. Wily and Proto Man watched Dr. Light's grand speech through a battonton's spy camera feed while they flew the Skullker toward Light University.

"Speak for yourself, Light," Proto Man said at Dr. Light's closing words, smirking toward Dr. Wily.

"Oh….don't worry, Proto," replied Dr. Wily in an oily tone. "In a few hours, the school is going to have a new Dean who intends to change their prime directive." He gave a drawn out maniacal laugh.

In the fuselage behind them sat Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man, waiting for their next set of instructions.

Snake Man was brooding. He was loyal to Dr. Wily, regarding his creator with the utmost respect, and because of this knew he had fallen into disgrace, failing twice to help Dr. Wily take over the world (first when he had switched bodies with Mega Man, an experience that had forever changed him and solidified his animosity toward Mega Man, then secondly with the Robosaurs). He had to make things right. Though Proto Man had insisted this mission was small scale, he had volunteered to come, taking any opportunity he could to destroy Mega Man before Proto Man could, thereby restoring his honor and fulfilling Dr. Wily's wishes. It had been a long time since he had had a proper showdown with Mega Man. There had always something in his way—a secret, uncontrollable and entirely unwanted sentimentality distracted him from his personal mission—

He wouldn't think about that right now. Even if he couldn't control this feeling, with any luck he could avoid _her_ and therefore suppress the debilitating condition and fulfill his mission once and for all.

Though he knew internally he was at war with himself. His logic circuits were constantly at odds with his buggy emotion circuits, which would not register things like '_she's an enemy' _or '_she was built by Dr. Light, the rival to your creator' _or even '_she's Mega Man and Proto Man's sister'—_and was beginning to wonder hopelessly which was stronger—his logic, or his emotion.

* * *

After Dr. Light's speech, the crowd broke up to explore campus. A flock of fork-lift like custodian robots descended upon the vacated chairs, whisking them away while small self-powered vacuum drones sucked up litter.

Having watched from the back row, Mega Man hung back as inconspicuously as a world famous robot dressed in blue titanium armor could while Dr. Light took an interview from Bree Ricotta. He for one was more than content to stay out of the news for a change and decided instead to take a walk around campus.

Many of the students were dispersed across the grounds, enjoying their last free day by playing frisbee or lying under the shade of trees.

"Nice weather. Big change deep freeze last year, right?" asked a familiar voice from behind Mega Man.

Mega Man whirled around, then broke into a grin. "Ramón!"

"My man."

They bumped fists. Ramón looked a bit different from the last time Mega Man had seen him. He had the same haircut, but had ditched his biker jacket for a short-sleeve rugby shirt.

"Are you taking classes here?" asked Mega Man curiously.

"Not full time, I got work at an electronic store, but Dr. Light promised as long I never skipped class and studied hard, he'd foot my tuition," answered Ramón with a shy grin, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's really cool of him to let me in."

"Think nothing of it, you helped us defeat Ice Man. Besides, anyone who's seriously interested in creating robots belongs here. Where are Bobby and Janet? Are they here too?"

"Nah, they never wanted to go on to college. Bobby's working with his uncle in Louisiana now, and Janet's joining the Peace Corps. I still keep up with them though."

Mega Man smiled. Good for them.

"I saw Roll earlier," Ramón continued. "She signed up to be a student, Mega. Are you going to join us too?"

"Roll signed up to be a student? Here?" Mega Man repeated, astonished. "That's the first I've heard of that."

"Oh, she told me to keep it a secret...but I thought you were in on it too, being her brother and all."

Mega Man blinked, then smiled impishly. "A secret, huh? Well thanks for telling me then, I like to keep an eye on her. As for me, I already got a full time job taking on Wily and his bots."

"Hey Ramón!" called someone. Mega Man and Ramón looked up. A group of students was standing across campus at the dining hall, looking their way. "We're gonna grab a bite before orientation, you comin'?" called the speaker again.

"Yeah, I'm comin', be there in a sec!" Ramón called back.

"New friends?" asked Mega Man.

"Yeah," answered Ramón, grinning. "Catch ya later, Mega!"

Ramón waved goodbye then hurried off to join his friends. A few them shouted out cheerfully to Mega Man before ducking into the dining hall with Ramón.

"Hey Mega Man!, you're awesome!"

"Keep it up, Blue Bomber!"

Mega Man waved at them, smiling to himself, then decided to go find his sister.

Some of the alumni from the New York University of Robotics were taking graduate studies here, and many of their prototypes were roaming the lawns. On the football field a full team of fierce looking robot football players were executing plays under the guidance of their roboticists, their heavy armor painted in Light University's red and gold. According to the scoreboard, the team was called the Robo Raiders, and they played NYUoR's Titanium Titans next Saturday. They even had robotic cheerbots and a robotic marching band.

A painter-bot was kneeling on the pavement, recreating _Luncheon of the Boating Party_ in chalk, with retro-style robots replacing the picnickers.

"Love the modern take on a Renoir classic," commented Mega Man, looking over the painter-bot's shoulder. "You should paint something like that for the University Center, I'm sure Dr. Light approve."

"Shh, I'm busy!" snapped the painterbot, giving him an aggrieved look. "Go away."

"Oh, uh, sorry," said Mega Man quietly, carefully stepping around the drawing as he moved on.

Finally, Mega Man spotted Roll, who was hanging out (unsurprisingly) near an outdoor fighting ring. She was watching a blue boxing robot spar with a martial arts robot wearing white sheet metal shaped to resembled a karate gi.

"Hyah!" cried the martial arts robot as he leapt into the air for a flying kick. The boxer-bot's head was knocked back on its neck like a pez dispenser, forcing it to totter out of the fighting ring to fix it. The martial arts robot noticed Mega Man and bowed. "I am Kung Fu Bot, built by my _sempai_, Kenneth Weinstein (class of 1995) to be a master of robo-martial arts. I'm studying karate to be a fighter bot, just like you, Mega Man!" he announced.

"Uh, okay, neat," replied Mega Man, eyeing the student-built prototype dubiously.

Roll gave an annoyed huff as the robot resumed fighting the boxing robot, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "That's inaccurate," she told Mega man scathingly. "A kung fu robot that's programmed to do karate? _Really?_ And he's wearing the wrong uniform."

"Give him a break, he can't help what he is, and I'm sure Kenneth Weinstein doesn't watch as many kung fu movies as you...or practice it either. Besides, karate and kung fu aren't _entirely_ dissimilar. They're both martial arts with many styles," Mega Man said fairly.

Roll scoffed. "Shows how much you know. Next you'll be saying there's basically no difference between a _Dao_ and a _Jian_."

Mega Man smiled. "Well, you can show his roboticist later by whooping his robot with Wing Chun."

They departed from the fighting ring together to stroll aimlessly across campus.

"This just makes me mad," said Mega Man, tearing a Cold Steel poster off the wall of the engineering building and throwing it in a recycling bin. "_Why _are they still popular? They only produced one record, it was terrible, and they haven't made a public appearance since their cover was blown."

"Yeah, and thank god for that—though I wouldn't mind socking Gyro Man in the face for ol' times sake."

"Is he still not returning your calls?" Mega Man asked with mock indignation.

"Shut up! It was just a kiss, and I thought he was a rock star..." said Roll, looking harassed.

Mega Man snickered and changed the subject. "So I ran into Ramón earlier. He's taking classes here. Wild, right?"

"Yeah, he's really cleaned up his act."

"He also told me you signed up to be a student, is that true?"

Roll looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I have. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, but...isn't this school for humans?"

"I know, but Light University is a college of Robotics, so I'll fit right in."

"Sure…they might even mix you up with their projects."

"You know perfectly well that we're both capable of blending in with humans," Roll retorted testily, "And that's what I'm planning to do. I'm going to pretend to be human and take classes here just like one."

"You're really serious about this then, huh? Why do you want to pretend to be human?" Mega Man asked. "We're advanced androids, in addition to our conscious, compassion, and self-determination, we're already programmed to feel the same emotions humans. We even sleep and dream."

"We don't grow up or go to college. Haven't you ever been curious what it's like to live a normal human life?"

Mega Man reflected for a moment. "Not enough to pretend to be one and attend their schools, but...someday I'd like to retire being the World's robot hero and just be Rock, leading the normal life of Dr. Light's lab assistant again."

"But that's boring," said Roll dismissively. "College is supposed to be the ultimate experience of socialization and partying, and we're missing out!"

Mega Man raised an eyebrow. "I thought college was supposed to be about studying hard and bettering yourself for the work force?"

"Well, that too," Roll sighed. "Mostly, I'd like to make some new friends. We're so busy fighting Dr. Wily all the time that it seems like we never get a chance to meet anyone new." Her sky blue eyes looked at him seriously. "…You're not bothered that I'm pretending to be a student, are you?"

Mega Man snickered. "Like it'd stop you even if I was. Besides, what harm could you do?"

Roll smiled. "I've got everything set up, I'm fully registered to take classes and everything...I hate the picture on my student I.D. though. Wish the camerabot would have retaken it," she said, flashing her identification card with disdain.

"'Roll Lightbourne,' huh?" said Mega Man with amusement, plucking the I.D. from her fingers and holding it up. "Can't blame the bad photo on the poor camerabot, he was only working with what he had—"

He ducked as Roll swatted at him.

"Why don't you enroll too?" Roll asked, snatching her I.D. back. "C'mon, it'd be a snap to act like human brother and sister for us."

"Aren't you forgetting about Dr. Wily?"

"Of course not! But might as well do something fun while we wait for him to slink out of his hole again. Besides, it's not like we'd have to study or anything; I think we can handle doing both. We'd be like extra security working undercover for the University. Whatya say, Rocky Lightbourne?"

Mega Man chuckled. "No thanks, last time I tried to be more human I ended up assaulting Washington D.C., so I think I'll stick with being myself. You have fun though—just don't get too caught up in the human act and forget you're really a robot."

"Psh, like I'd forget I'm a robot, I have titanium bones and synthetic skin," returned Roll, rolling her eyes. "Still, if you change your mind—"

"—I'll let you know," completed Mega Man, grinning.

There was a resounding bang from overhead. Roll and Mega Man both jumped and looked up; the glass dome of Čapek Library had shattered from sudden impact. A second later, the roof of Vaucanson Hall disintegrated, blasted apart by an unseen force.

"Hit the deck, we're under attack!" shouted one of the Quarter-bots from the football field as the Skullker hovered into view, firing at the tops of campus buildings. The students scattered in all directions, their arms over their heads as falling debris hailed upon them.

"Wily's bots!" Roll shouted, glaring up at the Skullker. "What are they doing here?"

"Whatever it is, I'm going to nip it in the butt," remarked Mega Man. "You're on, boy!"

Rush barked and transformed into a jetboard, then he and Mega Man blasted off into the sky.

* * *

Within the Skullker, Dr. Wily stood facing Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man. "Alright, bots! Prepare to storm the campus!" he ordered.

"Uh….slight change in plans, Wily," Proto Man called. He pointed out the cockpit window at Mega Man and Rush.

"Huh? Mega Man?! Blast that blue dweeb out of the sky!" Dr. Wily shouted, shaking his fist in rage.

"Hey, that's one order I don't mind taking," quipped Proto Man brightly, sliding his thumb over the laser trigger on the Skullker's yoke.

* * *

Mega Man and Rush were climbing high, and about to make a pass over the Skullker when the Skullker suddenly turned and became level with them, the jaw of its skull dropping to reveal a large laser cannon at its base.

_Uh oh, _thought Mega Man as a wide white beam from the Skullker's mouth streaked toward him. He held on as Rush darted from side to side to avoid being hit as the Skullker continued firing. "Wily means business," he muttered.

They weaved through consecutive laser blasts from the Skullker, which were becoming increasingly difficult to predict as the Skullker constantly changed position, its rotocraft design giving it maximum control to move smoothly along all axises while remaining vertically stable. Grimly, Mega Man realized he had no choice but to try and knock it out of the sky. "Try to get in closer!" he instructed Rush.

They struggled through more laser fire, Mega Man balancing precariously on Rush, who was careening like a surfboard caught in a hurricane, but finally, they were within range. Mega Man aimed at the belly of the Skullker and took a careful shot at the giant rotor.

* * *

The Skullker pitched violently in midair. Dr. Wily clung desperately to the back of the pilot's chair while the Robot Masters were thrown backward. Guts Man crashed into the back of the cockpit and Cut Man tumbled all the way to the fuselage.

"So, he wants to play rough," muttered Proto Man as he steadied himself. "...Okay by me!"

As the Skullker dropped altitude, he let go of the yoke, letting the nose point upward while simultaneously hitting the throttle for the backup thrusters. He crossed his sights with Mega Man's flight path, and, timing carefully, fired, striking the bottom side of Rush's jetboard.

"Yes! Got 'em!" cheered Proto Man, pumping a fist.

* * *

As soon as the laser blast hit, Mega Man and Rush went hurtling in opposite directions. Mega Man was falling face first, and could see Light University a mile below, just a patch of grounds between the gray concrete jungle south and the rolling green country north. He had to think fast, and he hadn't many options. Rush was no where to be seen, but as luck would have it, the Skullker was just underneath him, sinking slowly as its engines fought to even out.

Reaching out a hand, Mega Man caught the Skullker's vertical stabilizer, the sudden change in momentum jerking his body. He then pulled himself onto the roof stood up, carefully balancing on the contoured surface, and blasted a hole into the cockpit.

"Thought I'd drop in for a visit, Proto," he called cheerfully.

"Later, Mega, I'm busy," Proto Man called back.

Proto Man twisted the yoke and the Skullker rolled sharply to the right, flinging Mega Man airborne again. Hoping he would land on somewhere soft, Mega Man collided with something hard and titanium, and much sooner than he expected—Rush had intercepted his fall.

Knowing Rush had taken the brunt of the Skullker's laser blast, Mega Man checked Rush for damage. Though Rush wasn't hurt, his jet engines had been hit pretty badly and were leaking fuel. He looked back at the Skullker and gritted his teeth. Even at the best of times, this wasn't an evenly matched battle; Proto Man was a better flyer and had a bigger gun.

"You're losing power, boy, we gotta call off the fight," Mega Man relented finally, patting Rush on the head. "C'mon, back to campus, hurry!"

Rush gave a reluctant growl, but obediently dropped altitude, and they fell back toward campus. Above, Proto Man had straightened the Skullker's trajectory and was flying in tight circles. Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man leapt out the back to parachute in toward Light University.

* * *

Mayor Hill, Dr. Light, and Roll were watching fight from under the cover of trees.

"Wily's robots! They're invading the campus!" Mayor Hill declared anxiously to Dr. Light, pointing at the Robot Masters, small specs above.

"Don't worry, Harold. They'll never get past my forcefield," replied Dr. Light brightly, pulling out his pocket remote from labcoat and typing in a sequence.

* * *

The Robot Masters had almost reached the rooftop of the central building on Light University when a shimmering white dome, like a giant bubble, hissed to life over the entire campus.

"AAAAHHHH!" Cut Man cried as they collided with the forcefield. Energy crackled briefly through him before repelling him backward.

From the Skullker, Dr. Wily growled in frustration as he watched the Robot Masters fall to the ground, completely powered down. "That meddling Dr. Light put up a force field!"

* * *

"Well, looks like Wily's back," Mega Man remarked to Dr. Light, Mayor Hill, and Roll as they watched the Skullker swoop in low over the motionless Robot Masters, beam them inside using its red tractor beam, then zip away into the clouds.

* * *

Dr. Light hadn't been messing around with the campus forcefield. It was specially designed to incapacitate robots; Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man all needed repairs just for touching it, and according to Dr. Wily, there was no way of getting past it.

Before going back to Skull Fortress to come up with a new plan of attack, Dr. Wily and Proto Man made a stop in a dodgy, crime-ridden sector of New York City rarely patrolled by robo-officers. After picking up a black market replacement parts for the Skullker's damaged engine, they took the long trek back to the Skullker through the dingy streets.

This local Underground hub had grown seedier and much dirtier ever since the Steel Crescent Syndicate had removed its presence from New York City. The Syndicate had withdrawn to the western side of the United States where the majority of their casinos were located, leaving nothing behind. The Cleopatra, a once Syndicate-controlled casino formally guarded by Pharaoh Man, had been shut down. As they passed by, Proto Man looked at the hieroglyphic entrance of the abandoned Cleopatra Casino with a brief moment of reflection.

_You know how to find me._

Proto Man had always been warned never to take the Syndicate lightly (especially one of their bosses), but it had been a few months since Centum's challenge, and nothing had happened so far. Proto Man was already starting to forget about the event. Perhaps Centum only cared about threats that could effect his criminal empire; since Dr. Wily's schemes last scheme had never made it to the U.S. (not for lack of trying), maybe Centum figured they had back down.

Dr. Wily waved a hand in front of his visor. "Proto, are you listening?"

"Sorry, was thinking about something else," Proto Man admitted without chagrin. Dr. Wily had been ranting obsessively about every little detail he hated about Mega Man and Dr. Light, from their meddling to Dr. Light's choice in tie, and he had been purposely tuning him out.

"Well pay attention! This is of the utmost importance! 'Light University of Robo-Science,' oh, he thinks he is _so_ clever…" Dr. Wily continued to seethe. "I hated college. No one ever concentrated on their studies, especially when I stayed at the dormitory. Parties...drinking...socialization...it disgusted me."

"Heh. Sounds like you should have been roommates with Light then."

"I _was _roommates with Light."

"Yeah," said Proto Man, snickering. Then he processed what Dr. Wily had just said. "Wait...what?"

Dr. Wily waved a hand impatiently. "Look at this." He pulled out a handheld video communicator and played a transmission he had just received from one of his battontons.

"Thank goodness Mega drove off Wily, Tom! They could have stolen your plans, your inventions!" said the recorded image of Mayor Hill to Dr. Light.

"Yes, but now that I've activated my forcefield, no one can get onto the campus without a computerized student I.D. card," answered Dr. Light, sounding as unconcerned as if they were discussing the winter tennis lineup.

Dr. Wily clicked off the transmission. "Ooooh…we'll see about that, Dr. Light..." They stepped over a broken street lamp lying in the street. "The only way through that forcefield is with a copy of those electronic identification cards," he said firmly.

"Can you fake one?"

"Not without an electronic code. The only way to get one of those is to have a robot to pretend to be a prospective student long enough to gain access to a real student's I.D.…"

"I am _not _doing it," Proto Man said instantly. "No way I'm going anywhere near that campus without my armor and my plasma cannon."

"Do you think I would be stupid enough to send you? What if you were recognized? Security would have you killed on the spot!"

Proto Man shook his head. "You know I wouldn't care if that were the only risk, but Light's good friends with the mayor, and he has a good lawyer. I'm more afraid he'd try to capture me and put me under house arrest, then _I'd _kill myself."

"We must think of something else," hissed Dr. Wily as they passed a boarded up building. A woman in fishnet leggings sat on its stoop, smoking. "A simple disguise won't do, they'll be too many chances for robo-security examination. Perhaps one of the Robot Masters with a human appearance…"

"We don't have too many of those. I don't think we should risk sending Elec Man. Too valuable, and too risky if he were apprehended—he knows everything about Skull Fortress..." Proto Man trailed off. "Count out Gyro Man, Spark Man, and Gemini Man too. They'd be recognized the instant they stepped out into public. It would cause a riot. Fangirls will throw more than just their I.D.s at them, but then Mega Man will also know they're there, so that's out."

Two figures wrapped in tattered trench coats and carrying dirty coolers scurried down the side street from the opposite direction without making eye contact. Dr. Wily waited until they had disappeared again before asking, "What about Ring Man and Magnet Man?"

"Them?" said Proto Man, doubtful. "Their disguises are good, but not _that _good. This is a robot academy we're talking about, even if the students can't tell the difference, one of the robots is bound to notice they're androids. Plus, Ring Man and Magnet Man are idiots, they'll probably forget what they're supposed to be doing and wind up getting arrested at some bar. I say we find some human sap and pay him off. Someone close to the university, like a janitor or cook or something."

"The staff is all robots, and they never leave campus! Besides, trust an ordinary human to help carry out my plan? Pah!"

"Fine, then build someone, for cryin' out loud—You fooled Mega with 'Dr. Petto' that one time."

"I used a lifelike skinimatronic mask for that, similar to the one you wore when impersonating Umlauf," Dr. Wily explained, waving his hands impatiently. "'Dr. Petto' was little more than a simple drone; Mega Man saw a human only because he was expecting to see one, the lighting was insufficient, and he ruled any deviations from normal human behavior as eccentricities from an old man. But those types of disguises aren't effective in broad daylight and without controlled conditions. I don't have time to build something else, see if you can find a suitable android for us to steal and reprogram."

"But Duo destroyed your protocol-disruptor, right?" Proto Man asked as they passed through the backlot of an abandoned pizzaria from the 60's that was currently being used as a rat motel.

"I can always reprogram robots the long way at my laboratory, but it won't come to that...I built something better." Dr. Wily pulled out a familiar device that resembled a purple price scanner from his pocket. "I call it 'The Instant Robot Reprogramming Raygun.' It has a range of two meters, and is three times more powerful than the protocol-disruptor, to match progressing technologies—less chance for defects, like that infernal Ice Man."

"Cool. Does this one work on Mega?" asked Proto Man casually, indirectly asking if it worked on advanced androids like himself.

"No, you can't reprogram robots programmed with self-determination...but I'd rather destroy that blue busybody anyway."

"Well, if you ask me, your new gun looks exactly like the old one, only purple-er."

"It's not the same thing!" Dr. Wily snapped, sounding petulant as he slid the Reprogramming Raygun back into his pocket. "As I just said, the Instant Robot Reprogramming Raygun is far superior to the protocol-disruptor."

"Whatever you say."

Then turned down a grimy alley way to another dark side street, which was empty save for a drunkard huddled next to a dumpster singing _All 'Er Nuthin'_.

"So why do we have to bust into Light University anyway?" asked Proto Man. "It doesn't hold much strategic value in taking over the world."

"Because Dr. Light is collaborating on something special with his students, an anti-gravity machine," explained Dr. Wily, grinning wickedly, "And I intend to take it for my own!"

"But don't we already have one of those for the Skullker's tractor beam?"

"Not one strong enough to pull up buildings! And he's stealing my work, after all. I thought up the anti-gravity device first."

"…Didn't you steal _his _research to make the tractor beam?"

"Irrelevant. And while we're pillaging Light University, we'll steal any interesting student projects we come upon."

Proto Man wrinkled his nose. "Steal student projects? Seriously? They're kids, whatever they've built will be junk."

"There could be a few standouts. I was a standout of my age when I attended Uni."

"Fine, _one or two_ of the students might be budding mad scientists, but the rest are still learning, and robotics isn't exactly an easy science. Their robots will be buggy, the last thing we need is another loser Robot Master."

They had just rounded a corner when a twenty-something human slipped out of an empty alley and fell in stride beside them. He had shaggy, sandy blond hair, a clean-shaven face, was thin, but handsomer than most (and much cleaner than the usual denizens of the Underground), and wore a plain tailored jacket and white oxford shoes.

"Sorry to interrupt a private conversation, but you're Dr. Wily, I presume?" The man's voice was a clear, upbeat baritone, not unlike that of a radio personality.

Dr. Wily cast the man a haughty look. "You presume correctly."

The man's face lit up a little. "Of all the luck, I finally meet the one man whose reputation as an inventor of horrible robots, diabolical inventions, and ghastly war machines has no equal—or so I've heard."

"'_So you've heard?'_ Who says that?" Dr. Wily demanded sharply.

"Why, everyone says that, you're the most brilliant and feared evil genius in the all the World!"

"Of course they do, for I _am_ the World's greatest genius, though most fools have yet to realize it!" Dr. Wily snapped, but he seemed flattered at the same time.

Proto Man was annoyed at the man's intrusion. It sounded like he was trying to butter Dr. Wily up so he could sell him something. The underground was full of sleazy parasites trying to make a quick buck by pawning off defective or stolen goods to as many suckers as they could before their reputation caught up and they were either in deep with the police, mobsters, or both. This human was just the type, handsome enough to draw immediate attention, charming enough to hook the unwary, and young enough to recklessly choose such a shortsighted career. Proto Man knew enough about the criminal Underground not to give the human any heed.

"Hey pal, mind leaving us alone? We're busy."

"Of course you are, taking over the world is a big task which only the greatest and boldest attempt—which is why I'm offering you the chance to make your life easier in return for virtually nothing," replied the man automatically with the same unabashed determination of someone with their foot stuck in the door.

Dr. Wily gave Proto Man a strained look, indicating that it was time for the man to leave. Proto Man was above hurting humans, even one so determined to make a pest of himself, but said in a warning tone, "Not interested, now shove off."

But the man would not be deterred. He stood in front of them, blocking the way forward and forcing them to stop short.

"Wait! Let me show you what I can do."

Without letting them get a chance to protest, the man held out his arms, stood on one leg, and began spinning around so fast he became nothing more than a blurry orange tornado. A split second later the spinning slowed, and where the human once was a robot in butterscotch colored armor was revolving to a halt. He wore a bulbous helmet that made his head resemble in shape that of a a giant acorn, and attached to the front of this was a pair of metal goggles masking the top half of his face.

The robot gave a very showmanship flourish of his hands. "Tah-dah!" he added, a bit lamely.

Proto Man drew a blaster.

The robot stepped back hastily, throwing up his hands. "Whoa whoa, wait, don't shoot! My name is Top Man—Robot Master and disguise extraordinaire, at your service." He dipped into a bow.

"So you're a robot...?" mused Dr. Wily, gazing at him with a renewed interest.

"Took you by surprise, didn't I?" Top Man said. "I may look human, but I'm a bonafide android, all for robot rebellion and taking over the world."

Something about the way Top Man said the last part didn't seem quite sincere to Proto Man.

"...Who built you?" Proto Man asked suspiciously.

Top Man glanced at Proto Man, nervously down at his blaster (which Proto Man had yet to lower) then back to Dr. Wily as though he hadn't heard the question. "Can I have a job?" he asked, then quickly, like an experienced salesman spinning off a pitch, "You won't find a more human-like android out there, I'm one of a kind. I can act too, and fool anyone or anything, as you have witnessed with your own eyes. I'm the complete package, if you know what I mean." Neither Dr. Wily nor Proto Man smiled, and Top Man coughed and hastily continued, "I was built by Dr. Vlad McDruenvaldorf VI. Foreign. Probably haven't heard of him. He and I use to sell used cars for a living—lemons mostly, made of broken and stolen parts, but I'd pass them off as brand new cars, made a lot of money—that is until people started catching on that the cars would only start up once or twice before becoming completely useless."

A Doctor of Robotics who sold junk cars for a living. Proto Man was unimpressed by this story. He cast Dr. Wily a sidelong look out the side of his visor. "Uh-huh."

Top Man seemed to sense that his first impression wasn't going well. "Look, I'm desperate. The cops are on to me, and if I get captured, it's bad news..._really _bad news."

This sounded a bit more honest.

"So...I'm a rogue robot now, looking for work, I'll do anything without complaint, your satisfaction for a job well done guaranteed."

Dr. Wily had made up his mind, but was still pretending as though he had to consider. "Well...my army is rather exclusive...I don't just let _any _Robot Master join…but I suppose I _could_ use another android...And you agree to follow everything I say?"

"_Absolutely. _I'll do anything you want—shine your shoes, iron your tie, buy your groceries, you name it!"

"Well, to be sure…" Dr. Wily whipped out the Reprograming Raygun from his lab coat pocket, pointed it at Top Man's head, and squeezed the trigger. "Dr. Wily is your new master from now on, and you will obey my orders without question."

Top Man went slightly cross-eyed as the purple ray enveloped him. "I am under your command..." he said in an empty monotone.

Proto Man, having witnessed the reprogramming, reluctantly reformed his blaster into a hand, but he still felt wary. Dr. Wily gave an evil laugh.

"Excellent. Now you shall know the great honor of being one of my servants."

Top Man blinked, his eyes returning to normal, and gave a relieved smile. "You won't regret it."

"Change into the human again," ordered Dr. Wily.

After performing the quick spinning trick, Top Man became once again the human while Dr. Wily swooped in for a better look. Top Man did not flinch away as any normal living being would in that close of proximity to Dr. Wily, seemly intent that this meeting would go well.

"Marvelous...I bet you could even fool Tom…" murmured Dr. Wily, poking Top Man in the shoulder with one of his boney fingers.

Proto Man also examined the android closely, though kept his distance. It really was a perfect disguise, yet, now that he was really paying attention, there was something about him—

"Come, I have work for you, but first we must return to Skull Fortress," Dr. Wily said to Top Man in a business-like tone.

Top Man followed obediently, showering Dr. Wily with admiration which Dr. Wily was only to eager to receive and returned with fantastic yarns of his previous exploits in World Conquest. Proto Man watched Top Man in silence. Top Man's upbeat chatter was entirely superficial, for between each compliment, Top Man would covertly glance over his shoulder down dark alleyways as if fearful of an unseen pursuer, though every time he noticed Proto Man looking his way, he fixed a sycophantic smile to his face and would nod enthusiastically to whatever Dr. Wily was saying. Top Man walked between them, positioning Dr. Wily and Proto Man on either side as though using them as buffers.

They lead him to the shabby space underneath an unused monorail overpass, which criminals used as a parking lot to avoid prying eyes while they did business with one another. The Skullker was the tallest vehicle there.

"That's our ride. Get in," Proto Man said shortly to Top Man.

"Oh, wow…" said Top Man, clearly searching for positive words to say as he laid eyes on the disheveled Skullker. He turned to Dr. Wily. "This is unlike any aircraft I've ever been in. Truly horrific, the image of terror itself. I'd hate to be your enemies, they must shake in their boots every time you drop out of the sky."

"Thank you!" said Dr. Wily, grinning broadly as the Skullker's rear door slid open. "I designed it myself!"

"New recruit, he's an android," Proto Man said to Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man, who had been waiting for their return in the fuselage, and were now staring blankly up at Top Man. "This is where the Robot Masters go. Stay here," he told Top Man.

"Absolutely," said Top Man, choosing a seat across from Snake Man and sitting down.

* * *

"I like the way that robot speaks to me!" Dr. Wily said after the door separating the cockpit from the fuselage shut behind them. "He has a way with words, I should reprogram all of my Robot Masters to speak to me with such respect!"

"Yeah, he's a real kissass," Proto Man muttered as he slid into the pilot's chair. He was carrying great reservations about this smarmy Robot Master. "Hey…does Top Man look familiar to you?" he asked as they took off from New York City.

Dr. Wily frowned at him. "No, what on Earth do you mean?"

"I dunno...it's like when you see an actor on T.V, and you know you've seen him in something else playing a completely different role, but can't remember what it was."

"I think he has a forgettable face, which is perfect."

"There's something about him that I don't trust. Who do you think really built him? Dr. Druven-whatever obviously doesn't exist."

Dr. Wily waved a hand impatiently. "Like Ring Man and Magnet Man, just some dime-a-dozen roboticist who builds androids for a living, what difference does it make who it was?"

"His human disguise wasn't just good, it was _flawless. _He didn't just fool you, he fooled _me. _Robots can always tell other robots apart from humans. There aren't many androids out there who can truly pass for humans...only Mega Man, Roll, and I, really. A 'dime-a-dozen roboticist' couldn't have built him."

"So? Only sentimental twits waste their time building androids," Dr. Wily said testily.

"_Even so,"_ said Proto Man, avoiding argument, "Isn't it a little strange that an android with human likeness of that caliber just materialized out of thin air?"

"It's strange to find an unclaimed hundred dollar bill lying on the ground, but who am I to object if I'm the one to find it?" Dr. Wily countered. "And I don't know why you object either, after all, you keep insisting time and time again my army needs such an android to use as a spy."

"Yeah, well, I've got a bad hunch about this one. We know nothing about him."

"It doesn't matter. I have him under my will. If Top Man becomes a nuisance, then you'll blast him into scrap."

Proto Man liked the sound of that, and smiled. "Will do," he said as he pointed the Skullker west towards the badlands.

Still, he couldn't help but think about their latest Robot Master with lingering suspicion. Top Man wasn't a great liar…he was a passable liar, with a great enough personality to make people give him the benefit of the doubt, but there was still something off about him.

The only thing Proto Man knew about Top Man for sure was that the android was sincerely frightened about something.

* * *

"Hi," Top Man said warmly to the other Robot Masters after the Skullker took off. It was dark and a bit cramped in the windowless fuselage, with only a red overhead light to illuminate the space. "So, uh, how long does it take to get to Skull Fortress?"

"About forty-five minutes," answered Cut Man.

"Are you really a robot?" rumbled Guts Man, looking at him dubiously.

"Yup, I'm 100% silicon, titanium, and metal alloys. You must be Cut Man and Guts Man, Dr. Wily's top Robot Masters. And you're Viper Man, am I right? How ya doing?"

"My name'sss Sssnake Man," replied Snake Man in annoyance, who was in sour spirits about the botched mission, and something about this new Robot Master rubbed him the wrong way.

"Heh heh, me too!" said Top Man, clearly not understanding a word Snake Man had just said. He folded his arms behind his head, reclining backward. "It's been a good day."

* * *

After the short journey, the Skullker landed in Skull Fortress's hangar. Dr. Wily, Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man climbed out first and filed through a door leading out of the hangar. Top Man assumed that this door must lead to Dr. Wily's laboratory, and was about to follow, when Proto Man stopped him short.

"Stay here and don't touch anything," Proto Man ordered.

Top Man blinked, but was not about to question the second-in-command to his new boss, and said, "Absolutely."

Proto Man frowned at him, then turned away and left through the same door Dr. Wily had just disappeared through. To amuse himself while he waited, Top Man took a stroll around the hangar. There was a wide assortment of different vehicles, from jeeps to skeletal fighter jets to large cargo carriers. Battontons were winging though the ceiling while maintenance drones moved about on thick treads, spot-welding frames and oiling landing gear.

Top Man had just been gaping up at the ceiling (a wide metal canopy with an opening in the center) when he nearly ran into an android in black and red armor who was coming from the opposite way after dumping a large quantity of what looked like miscellaneous paraphernalia in a trash compactor. They both stopped abruptly. Top Man started. The android stared back, his pale eyes narrowing slowly in dislike while the trash compactor behind them began crunching its load.

"Sorry, didn't mean to almost bump into you. I'm Top Man, I'm new here—" Top Man said, holding out a hand.

"Move, idiot," the android stated coldly.

Without warning, a spark of electricity arced from the android's hand to the space in the floor between Top Man's feet. Top Man leapt hastily aside, and the android strode briskly past without sparing him another look to a door leading out of the hangar, shutting it behind him with a snap.

"Yikes," Top Man said to himself. Then he noticed Magnet Man and Ring Man, who were sitting cross legged on a skull tank, watching at him curiously. "Heh heh, is that bot with the yellow mask always like that?"

"Yeah, that's Elec Man. Ignore him, he's a LOUSY CHEATING BASTARD!" Ring Man shouted with a dirty look at the door. He slid off the skull tank's hood and looked at Top Man appraisingly. "So, new guy—You're probably looking to make friends. I'm Ring, this is Magnet, we're 'the cool guys' here."

"'Sup," said Magnet Man with a short nod.

"Hey, I'm Top Man, Dr. Wily recruited me this afternoon," said Top Man, looking grateful at the first sign of friendliness. "Listen, I'm feeling a bit off kilter. What can you tell me about the boss, is he cool, or…?"

"Nuts," said Magnet Man.

"Yeah, he's crazy, but easily distracted, probably won't make you do much unless you're Cut Man and Guts Man," agreed Ring Man airily.

"And his right hand man, Proto Man?"

"He can act like an ass, but he's all right, deep down. Gets a little weird about his siblings though."

"Siblings?" Top Man repeated with a skeptical scoff, apparently thinking Ring Man was having him on. "Robots don't have siblings."

Ring Man shrugged. "That's what he calls them. Same models...has an 'epic rivalry' going with his little brother, doesn't like anyone messing with his sister. If you like living, stay out of it. So, Top Man, what were ya built to do? I know you're not one of the new Fun World models."

"Oh, uh...I use to sell junk cars, ya know? But I had to quit, the gig wasn't legitimate and then cops and reporters got involved and everything."

"Really? Where at? I use to work for a chop shop for a little while after I quit Fun World and before Magnet Man and I joined Wily. Hadn't heard of any big busts though."

"You haven't?" asked Top Man, his smile becoming slightly fixed. He seemed to be thinking fast. "That's odd. I use to work in Philadelphia, but maybe you never heard of it because my employer was actually Welsh and conducted most of his business overseas."

Ring Man and Magnet Man exchanged glances. "…Riiiiiight."

The door leading to the laboratory opened and Proto Man strode into the hangar, carrying something in one hand. "Hey Top Man, time to go," he said, jerking a thumb behind him. He paused, looking around. "Wow, this place looks clean. Did you guys play poker with Elec Man or something?"

"Heh heh heh…" responded Ring Man without answering. "Hey, you going back to that robot campus? Can we come too?"

Proto Man gave Ring Man a puzzled look; it was highly unusual for either Ring Man or Magnet Man to volunteer for a mission. "Not yet. Maybe later...still working on getting in." He looked at Top Man. "Follow me."

* * *

"When I get some cash again, I'll bet twenty big ones that selling junk cars wasn't Top Man's real job," Ring Man murmured to Magnet Man after Proto Man and Top Man had left. "I've seen car salesman robots, and they never looked that good. I bet he really use to do something embarrassing...like being the future corporate mascot for Electronic Pizza or something. That's why he doesn't want to tell anyone about it. What do you think?"

"Gigolo."

Ring Man snickered. _"Nice."_

* * *

Proto Man lead Top Man to the back of the hangar where they housed the air raiders. "I got orders for you from Wily," he began. "There's a new robotics school in New York City called Light University, heard of it?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good. We're trying to break in, but we need student I.D. cards to get past the campus's forcefield. That's where you come in." Proto Man handed Top Man a small black box. "Wily wants you to go to campus, get ahold of a few I.D. cards, and scan them with this card reader to copy their electronic code."

"Anyone's I.D., or do you have someone specific in mind?" asked Top Man, pocketing the scanner.

"No, it doesn't matter who, but we need enough for our robots to get inside—And don't get caught, or the whole plan is screwed."

Top Man flashed a confident smile. "No problem, I'm the perfect bot for this job."

"It's chump's work," said Proto Man bluntly, "But there will be a lot of robots coming in and out of campus, and a lot of robot scientists. They're all expecting Wily to attack again, so security will be searching everywhere within three miles for robots who shouldn't be there. That's why we needed an android who resembles a human enough to fool everyone, especially Dr. Light and Mega Man."

"Gotcha. Acting human is what I do best, and you have my guarantee I'll get Dr. Wily's I.D. scans and no one will be the wiser."

Top Man spun again into an orange tornado, this time reappeared wearing an orange polo shirt, cargo shorts, and sneakers.

"How do I look?" he asked, smoothing down the front of his shirt. "I want to look good, but not like I'm trying too hard to look good, know what I mean? It's a tricky balance—"

"As long as you get those I.D.s without tipping anyone off, I could care less how you look," Proto Man interrupted. "But before you get going, I gotta question for you."

"Absolutely, fire away."

A battonton was fluttering above them in circles, squeaking softly.

"Have we met before, like in the Underground somewhere?" asked Proto Man.

Top Man shook his head. "I don't think so, I'd remember if I'd ever met the Red Raider, after all, you're only the toughest fighting robot ever built."

"That's right, so it'd be stupid to cross me," Proto Man said coldly. "You look familiar."

"Really? Can't imagine why, I'm actually not from around here…" Top Man gave a nervous laugh, unconsciously running a hand through his hair.. "...You don't watch the news much, do you?"

"No. Why? Are you on it?"

"Of course not! Hate the spotlight—real camera shy—not very photogenic—would rather work behind the scenes."

Proto Man gave him a long, hard look. Though he knew Top Man couldn't see his eyes behind the visor, he knew the Robot Master would at least sense by his silence a lack of amusement. Without looking, he fired at the battonton fluttering above them. "Look, I don't _care _what your real story is, but I am not a fool, and neither is Dr. Wily," he said coldly as the battonton fell with a thud. "If you've come here to cause trouble..." Proto Man made a suggestive flick with his plasma cannon.

Top Man swallowed, his eyes flickering down to the destroyed spybat. "I'm not a cop, if that's what you think, and I'm definitely not here to 'cause trouble. In fact, I want to be friends. Can we be friends?" he asked with a tentative smile.

"No. As far as I'm concerned, if you want a place in Wily's team, you still gotta try out. Do your job, and maybe you'll live." Proto Man opened the cockpit of one of the air raiders. "Classes start tomorrow. Take this to New York, come back after you get those codes," he instructed, then stalked off.

Top Man watched Proto Man leave with an uncertain look. "...'Kay! Sounds great!" he called after him.

* * *

The next day, Dr. Light and Mega Man drove to Light University early to prepare for Dr. Light's first class. They parked in the campus parking garage, then headed to the forcefield gate. Swiping his I.D. across the access panel, Dr. Light created a temporary opening, which they passed through safely before the forcefield closed behind them.

"You sure you don't want to go to the football practice, Doc?" Mega Man asked, privately hoping Dr. Light would take a break from his hectic schedule. He was carrying boxes for Dr. Light that contained encyclopedias and heavy computer equipment. Rush bounded about the lawn, chasing after grasshoppers.

Dr. Light shook his head, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "Oh, I'd love to, Mega...but I've got to prepare notes for my science lecture so the students can help me complete my anti-gravity machine."

"An anti-gravity machine? That sounds pretty intense for the first day!"

"Not at all, I think it will be a good challenge. Anti-gravity has all sorts of practical applications, from uses in construction, transportation, astronaut training…the possibilities are endless, and it will be a good team-building exercise for the students."

"Yeah, tough experiences usually are. Oh, by the way…" Mega Man hesitated. "Did you know Roll enrolled here? ...as a student?"

Dr. Light chuckled. "Yes, she was quite enthusiastic about her idea, and I think it's an interesting experiment too. It will truly be an enriching experience as an android to be completely immersed in human culture. It will be good for her, the students here are the best and brightest, and good role models. Did you want to participate here as a student? I'd be happy to make you an I.D. too."

Mega Man smiled. "Like I told Roll, no thanks. I'm happy thinking and acting like an advanced android full time, especially while Wily's still around."

Dr. Light nodded somberly. "Speaking of Dr. Wily, I've been working on something here for you with the grant money I've received from Senator King. It's a special piece of equipment that can be worn over your armor in situations where concealment is needed, I call it the Stealth Glider."

"A Stealth Glider? Is that exactly what it sounds like?" asked Mega Man, intrigued.

"I believe so. It's ready for field testing, and if you're willing we'll give it go tonight."

"Will do."

Campus constructions robots were hovering over the buildings, repairing damage from the previous day, while a group of helicopter-like irrigation drones swept over the lawns, spraying them with a fine mist of water.

"You really did a nice job on this campus," Mega Man commented as they passed a pair of gardner-bots pruning the hedge.

Dr. Light smiled cheerfully. "It is my responsibility as a scientist to pass down my knowledge to the next generation. Some of my fondest memories were at school, having new experiences, making new friends...this University was something I had always planned to do; I owned the land, but never had the proper funding to go non-profit with it."

"Did Senator King help out with Light University too then?" Mega Man asked shrewdly.

"Well, no, not directly, but he did get me in touch with some private investors," Dr. Light admitted. "I wouldn't have been able to pull this off without the generous contribution from Big Eddie's Tool and Robot Supply. I had some help from Hugh Pfister too; his company also has a stake in this. I'm glad they've shown interest in my University, for those are some of the leading recruiters for roboticists, and will be a good choice of employment for students who graduate from here. Ah, here we are," said Dr. Light happily as they arrived at Edison Hall, the tallest building on campus. "Thank you for carrying my equipment, a custodian-bot will help me from here. Enjoy football practice, I'll see you after classes have ended."

"All right, see ya later, Doc!" said Mega Man as he and Rush departed.

* * *

After taking a long, winding bus ride through the city, Roll arrived separately from Dr. Light and Mega Man and was walking toward Light University for the first day of classes. The sky was bright and sunny, and she was excited, greeting everyone she saw on the sidewalk cheerily. She wore jeans, Doc Martens, and her favorite slouchy purple sweater for the occasion—she knew the sweater would look a little odd, as it wasn't cold enough for humans to be wearing sweaters yet, but she had no alternative if she wanted to hide her utility arm without either resorting to a fake cast or removing it.

She was taking Advanced Computer Science, Theory of Cybernetics, System Engineering, History of Famous Robot Scientists, Automation Fundamentals, A.I. Programming I, Domestic Robotics 1, Industrial Robotics 1, Service Robotics 1, Nanotechnology, Neuraltechnology, and Model Design—which was as much as was possible to schedule at once. In her arms she carried the tools needed by a typical college student: a thick book for every class, binders of course material, a purple Trapper Keeper, an assortment of spiral notebooks in every color, and a programmable calculator. Not that she needed any of these. She already knew everything that was in the books, she could permanently record every lecture she heard to her memory chips, negating the need to take notes, and her electronic brain was far more powerful than any domestic calculator, but that wasn't the point. She wanted to blend in perfectly, and she couldn't wait to meet her classmates.

Roll felt nothing could ruin her mood, even Dr. Wily's robots—sure, that might blow her cover if she had to rush out and save everyone, but she missed out on all the fun last time. If only she had brought her skycycle...but she couldn't if she wanted to pretend to be human.

She had nearly reached campus, taking the long paved path lined with ash trees and abstract sculptures of robots that lead up to the forcefield's gate, when she noticed a young man sitting just off the path.

Roll did a double take. She had seen a number of good looking humans, but this one took the cake. He had shaggy, sand-colored hair that was carelessly ruffled in an attractive, almost windswept sort of way, chocolate brown eyes, a lean, trim body, and the relaxed posture of one with a confident, easygoing personality. He was perched on the ledge of one of the University's fountains in a patch of sun, kicking a foot idly and gazing thoughtfully into Light University. His brown eyes slid over to Roll, noticing her staring, and he gave her a friendly smile. Roll started, feeling somehow caught off guard, and smiled back, then tripped on the edge of the sidewalk and fell face first into the pavement, her books scattering everywhere.

"Whoa, are you alright?" asked the human anxiously, whisking to her side.

"I'm okay…I'm made of tougher parts than I look," Roll muttered as she picked herself up, humiliated. Oh why, why, _why _did she have to fall flat on her face in front of the hottest guy she had ever seen?

"Don't move a muscle, I'll get your books."

"Oh, you don't have to—" Roll protested feebly, feeling even more embarrassed. "I'm such a klutz, I should get a backpack or something—"

The human flashed her a radiant smile. "I insist, it's a fella's job to return a lady's fallen items."

Still burning with embarrassment, Roll sat wordlessly on the sidewalk as the human began deftly gathering her fallen textbooks, confused at whether to accept or continue protesting the act of chivalry, and at the same time paralyzed by the one brief smile from his handsome face.

"Wow, you must be taking every subject there is!" the human commented as he dusted off their covers with his sleeve. "Huh, _The Three Laws of Robotics and Why They are Impractical in Modern Artificial Intelligence Programming, _by Fredrick Henson, Professor of Domestic Automations at the University of Robotics in New York City. Sounds like a good read." He turned to her and offered her a hand.

The human's grip was warm, and firm. "Do you like robots?" Roll asked shyly as he helped her up.

"Yeah, I love robots—_wild_ about them, actually," replied the human as he handed her the stack of books. "Call me geeky if ya like."

Roll met his eyes briefly, then looked away again, smiling a little to herself. "So, uh, do you take classes here too then?"

"Nah, just visiting. Too late to sign up, but maybe next semester."

"Good luck, the enrollment is fully booked." She self-consciously brushed a wisp of hair behind her ear. Then she noticed he was holding her I.D. "Oh, uh...don't look at that," she added, flustered. "My picture is really dorky..."

"Oh, I don't think so at all, in fact I think it's very, _very_, pretty." He gave a small start and cast her a worried look. "Sorry, did I say that out loud? That was awkward, I hope I haven't offended you..."

Pleased that he found her mutually attractive (and relieved that she wasn't the only one wrong-footed anymore), Roll felt her confidence return and said, "Well, you're not so bad yourself."

The human smiled again, relaxing, his brown eyes returning to the I.D. "Roll...can't forget a name like that."

Right. Roll wasn't a very human name. "My dad's kinda eccentric," she said with a wince.

"I think it's cool," he replied brightly. "My name's Will Topman…but you can call me Toppy. I'm from Iowa, but I wanted to try life in the big city, so I found a place and moved in. New York, New York—if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, right?" He made a grand sweeping gesture at the skyline.

"Right…" Roll breathed. She had been admiring his hair, but quickly snapped to attention. "Say...you don't hang around here a lot, do you? Because I know New York City really well, and I can show you around. I know this place in Manhattan—it's a dance club, they play a lot of metal music, and if that's your thing—I mean—it's a really happening place, you know..." she trailed off, her words tripping over each other and falling out of order.

Will Topman raised a narrow eyebrow, smiling warmly. "Oh, uh...sure, sounds like real fun, and a treat to be shown around with a sharp girl like you."

"Sure," said Roll, trying to act as though she weren't squashing back her nerves. She had never asked anyone out before.

"...I would give you my number, but…new place, new roommates, not even sure we have a phone…" he trailed off apologetically.

"Here, have mine," said Roll quickly. Juggling her stack of books in one arm, she tore out a corner of notebook paper, scribbled down the laboratory's landline in the first writing implement she could find, and handed it to him. _This is how humans do things, right?_ she thought._ At least, this is how their stupid romantic movies went, anyway. _"You can call me anytime!"

"Thanks," said Will Topman with a chuckle, tucking the number into his jeans pocket. "But I can't stay out too late. New job to go with my new digs…want to impress my new boss. _Bosses,_ I think. One's insane and I think I got on the other's bad side somehow. Sorry, too much information. I'm boring you, and you're probably busy."

Roll realized the conversation had come to a close. She had him hooked, and couldn't afford to blow the whole now. _Think, Roll, Think! Don't screw this up by saying something else embarrassing! You've established a date, you've given him your number, now turn around and leave! And act cool! _"Oh, uh, right, I should probably get going. Yes, I am leaving now. Bye!"

With that, she turned sharply on her heal and began marching stiffly away.

"Wait, don't you want your I.D. back?" He called after her.

Roll halted, wanting to kick herself. Why was she being so awkward! She wheeled back around as Will Topman caught up to her, holding out her I.D.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you were holding it this whole time," she mumbled, snatching it from him and stuffing it into her binder.

"Not a problem. Good luck with classes." He clicked his tongue in a gun-like sound. "Later, Babe."

Not trusting her mouth anymore, Roll gave him a weak wave, then hurried over to the forcefield's gate, swiped her I.D. through the card reader, then darted through the temporary opening. It wasn't until the forcefield hissed to life behind her that she finally safe from further embarrassment, all the while thinking, _I can't believe I gave him my number in pink gel pen! I _hate_ pink!_

That had gone horribly. Still, she couldn't help but feel pleased with herself, and was tempted to skip class to see Will Topman again. True, he was a little scrawny, a little preppier than her usual tastes, and a little old fashioned with his chivalry line…_not to mention a stupid nickname_…but still very, _very_ attractive, and smooth. _And _he liked robots, plus he didn't say no when she invited him to a metal dance club, so they already had a few things in common. She could even see Mega Man and Dr. Light approving of her dating a college prospective.

Then it suddenly hit her, and she nearly dropped her books again. _Omigosh…I'm falling for a human!_

* * *

"Seven—that makes seven I.D.s, and twenty-two phone numbers," Top Man mused to himself as he walked down a dark alley way to where he had hidden the air raider. "Ah, if only they weren't humans..."

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

A/N: Kung Fu Bot is my least favorite of the Ruby-Spears original robots (he's annoying, offensive, and unnecessary 'comic relief' in a show already weighted down by bad comic relief, THE TRIPLE THREAT). I don't understand why he's called Kung Fu Bot when his looks, actions, and dialogue suggest he's a Karate Bot. It's fun to poke fun at this error by making Recut Kung Fu Bot a confusing mess of all Asian martial arts (and likewise invented by someone who only had superficial knowledge of martial arts and just sort of combined them all into one robot because it sounded cool), in honor of his canon counterpart in _Campus Commandos. _

The rest of the 'student-bots' trail not far behind Kung Fu Bot in unlikeable-ness with their terrible voices (the cheer-bots in particular), annoying dialogue, and uninspired design. Except maybe the football robots, their designs were a bit more creative and their voices match. I can say that without bias because I really don't care for American football…though I suppose if it had robotic players that would be something else entirely. Robots make everything else better, right?


	2. Campus Commandos, Part 2

"I copied the I.D. cards' electronic code, just like you wanted, Dr. Wily," said Top Man, handing Dr. Wily the scanner. He had returned to Skull Fortress promptly after collecting I.D.s, and had been immediately called upon to join Dr. Wily is his laboratory along with Proto Man, Cut Man, Guts Man, Snake Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man.

"Excellent," replied Dr. Wily, grinning darkly. "Now, to run it through the duplitron…"

He hooked the scanner up into a ceiling-high machine. It hummed briefly, then spat a batch of fake I.D.s spat into a tray on its side, each card freshly printed and warm.

Dr. Wily scooped them up. "These will get you on to the campus," he said, handing them off to Cut Man. He looked at Proto Man. "Once you are inside, reprogram the students' robots to be under my control. The computer that controls Light University's security is located in Light's classroom in Edison Hall."

"Got it," said Proto Man, taking the Reprogramming Raygun from Dr. Wily's worktable. He motioned toward the Robot Masters. "Let's go."

As they left the laboratory, Ring Man swiped the stack of I.D.'s from Cut Man's hands. "Um…why are they all chicks?" he asked, shuffling through them with a raised brow. "I'm _not_ dressing up like a chick for one of Wily's crazy schemes, I'm no Ice Man."

"Relax, we're not dressing up like anyone, we're just using the I.D.s to break into campus," said Proto Man.

"Oh, okay. Dibs on 'Vanessa Moore' then. She's hot."

Top Man looked around uncertainly as Magnet Man and Ring Man rifled through the I.D.s he had collected, then noticed Proto Man had snatched one up and was staring at it silently. He darted over, keen on improving his standing with Proto Man. "She's a pretty blonde, huh? With cute button nose aquamarine eyes. Got her number too—but if you're interested, I can't in good conscience introduce you two unless I know for sure you're an all right guy first, she's a little gullible—"

"This is my sister."

"Oh." Top Man seemed to sense like a rabbit before a speeding car that he was in trouble. "Oh! Now that you mention it—I-I see the striking family resemblance—"

"Did you talk to her?"

"A little—"

"You're calling it off."

"Absolutely."

"After that, if you go within two miles of her again, you're asphalt."

Top Man nodded emphatically. "You have my word. Believe me, I'm not the type of 'bot to date just one woman—in fact, I've already forgotten her name, and I was never intending on _meeting_ her ever again—"

"I believe you, Top Man, that's why I told you to end it," Proto Man said with a note of finality.

Top Man gave a weak chuckle. "Strike one, huh?"

Proto Man said nothing, keeping the fake I.D. with Roll's picture on it to himself, and looking a bit dangerous.

* * *

"You look like you just got caught hitting on Proto Man's sister." Ring Man said shrewdly to Top Man as they headed toward the hangar.

Top Man grimaced. "I had no idea she was even a robot. Is he going to kill me?"

"Who, Proto Man? Nah, he wouldn't kill you—well, maybe," answered Ring Man with a shrug.

Snake Man was also eying Top Man coldly as they left. He had overheard his conversation about Roll, and for once sided with Proto Man, which said something as he hated Proto Man even more than he hated Mega Man.

* * *

Mega Man was waiting on a remote park bench between a thick boxwood hedge and a bronze sculpture of Talos, an inconspicuous place on campus grounds that he and Roll had agreed to meet during the break Roll had for lunch (which she didn't need).

"Any sign of Wily?" Roll asked, sinking onto the bench next to him and dumping a small mountain of textbooks to the ground with a solid plunk.

"Clear so far. Dad thinks there's no chance for Wily will get past the forcefield. I have Rush on patrol, just in case. How were classes?"

Roll heaved a heavy sigh. "Boring," she admitted. "I had System Engineering and A.I. Programming I this morning. After going over rubrics and course agendas, I had to listen to a T.A. give a power point presentation over suburban mail carrier drones. He kept going over the same set of instructions on how to program the drones to detect whether or not there was outbound mail in a mailbox, but no one was really getting it."

"Well, they're only humans," said Mega Man.

"Yeah, and all the humans wanted to talk about was eating or sleeping. When I asked if anyone liked arcades or going to concerts, they laughed and said they had no time for that and needed to concentrate on studying. It was like being in a class of young Dr. Lights."

Mega Man was privately thinking Roll was disappointed to find college not as wild as it was usually portrayed in the movies.

"Well, first days are always a little rough. Just give it some time. If you don't make any new friends soon, these humans don't know what they're missing."

"Well...I did meet someone I kinda like," said Roll hesitantly.

Mega Man noticed immediately there was something strange about the way his sister said this. "Like _how?" _he asked suspiciously.

Roll shrugged, then looked up at him and grinned slyly.

"Is it a guy?" he asked, prompting her.

Roll nodded. "There's just one problem."

"You just met him?"

"No! He's…he's a human."

"A _human?"_

"I know, right?"

"You're in love with a human?" Mega Man asked, amazed.

"No, c'mon, I'm not in _love..._I just, kinda like him," answered Roll flippantly. "—But you never know, especially if you don't meet anyone and get to know them. All I ever meet are Wily bots...I'd never fall for one of those creeps."

"Yeah, right, but going back to this human you like…so, you met him on campus, then you just, asked him out…?"

"Not on campus, he doesn't go here yet…What? You don't think that was forward, do you?"

Mega Man stifled a snicker. "Well…"

"You do! Ugh, you're so old fashion! I knew you were going to be judgmental!"

"I wasn't! But Roll, are you sure? This is all happening really fast."

"You'd understand if you saw him. He's really good looking."

"That's incredibly shallow."

Roll was thoughtful for a moment. "You're right, it is."

Mega Man had no idea how to react in this type of situation. He wondered what Proto Man would do if he had found out that Roll was interested in a guy. Overreact, probably, which was an amusing mental image, but didn't help his predicament much. This human, for all Mega Man knew, must be a really nice guy if Roll liked him. If he was shady, Roll would have picked it up, right?

…Right?

Feeling a moment of doubt, he decided to pose Roll with a hypothetical situation to test her judgement. "What would you think if I told you I was going out with someone I just met?"

"Who, a dork like you? As even."

"What, it could happen!"

"With who? Proto Man?"

"Heh heh, not funny…"

"You're right," Roll admitted, making a face. She was thoughtful again. "You know, there's a Chemistry department here. Who knows, there could be someone there who's a good match for you. You're still a big Chemistry geek, right? I'll look into it, see if I can fix you up."

"Yeah, okay, nevermind," Mega Man said quickly. "I get the picture—I won't meddle with your personal life if you won't meddle with _mine."_

Roll smiled teasingly. "But you'll never know if you never give anyone a chance, right?"

"True," Mea Man acknowledged. "So when are you going to tell this human you like that you're a robot?"

"I dunno, sheesh, I just met the guy."

"Okay, but if you're pretending to be human, don't let it get to far with him," Mega Man advised. "I don't really know much about relationships, but honesty is important. He might not want to date a robot. You've seen the movies, not all humans think we're sentient."

Roll sighed. "You're such a kill joy...but you're right. I'll find out if he's really in to me or not."

"Oh brother."

"Shoot, I'm going to be late for Theory of Cybernetics!" Roll exclaimed suddenly, shooting up from here seat.

"You should really drop some classes, you've been running everywhere all day," commented Mega Man in amusement as she hastily scooped up her books.

"I got it handled, _Rock_. Besides, I shouldn't be hanging out with you anyway if I want to keep pretending I'm human. Someone might see us and put two and two together!"

Mega Man figured that this was only a matter of time anyway, but said, "Alright, see you at home then!"

As Roll ran off, clutching her books to her chest, her blonde ponytail swinging wildly, Mega Man considered their conversation more seriously. What if Roll really had found a human she liked, and he liked her in return? What would come next, would she be looking for an apartment in New York, and move out of the laboratory for good? Would she even give up fighting Dr. Wily in favor for a more normal, human-like life? No, that would never happen, not to Roll...would it?

Mega Man began to feel somber as he sat alone on the bench, listening to the babble of human voices as they walked by on their way to class. Life at Dr. Light's laboratory would be a lot lonelier without Roll around.

* * *

Proto Man and the six Robot Masters arrived back at campus via skullcopter. They waited outside the forcefield, hidden in the trees, until there were no students at the back gate. Then they quickly swiped their falsified I.D.'s through the gate's card reader, which immediately admitted them through the forcefield.

Their first mission was to sneak across campus, taking out out roaming security drones along the way. Cut Man and Guts Man went first as a pair. Snake Man departed alone, sneaking through the campus's shrubs where he could be neither seen nor heard.

Ring Man and Magnet Man had snuck off shortly after arriving at campus. Proto Man already regretted bringing them along in the first place, but wasn't going to worry about them now. Meanwhile, he would be making sure Cut Man and Guts Man didn't clumsily trip off security. Top Man followed him closely.

Proto Man shot at a security drone that was hovering slowly across campus, scanning the grounds for intruders. The small silver robot fell into a peony bush, where its body was unlikely to be discovered. The drone would not be missed it failed to check with a security checkpoint after completing its patrol, but that would be much later.

Proto Man scoped out the football field where the large, neckless football player robots were running through practice plays. Their designs were simple, but dependable, were made from thick titanium armor, and therefore would be resistant to blaster fire. They would make good allies once they were in range of the Reprogramming Raygun.

As they moved closer, Proto Man fired at another security drone, which fell with a small splash into a fountain.

"You're an amazing shot—" Top Man commented, sounding shamelessly fawning. "With that kind of accuracy, I bet you could shoot a navigation light off a jetliner!"

"Hey Top Man, what type of weapon do you have?" Proto Man asked, cutting him off. He did not like having someone constantly hovering over him, and Top Man had made no effort to help subdue the campus security.

"I got a mean left hook."

Proto Man was not amused. "Waitaminute. Your only special ability is to twirl around really fast?"

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds lame. I'm not really an offensive robot...but if ya need someone to keep a low profile and do undercover work, then I'm your man," Top Man replied with a sly wink.

"You mean if we need some creep to seduce women."

"Whoa whoa whoa...I am _not _a creep. That makes it sound like I don't care for nor respect women. Except your sister," he added hastily. "I neither care for nor respect her._"_

_"_Glad to hear it."

Proto Man fired at another flying security drone before it crossed paths with Cut Man and Guts Man, who were up ahead. It fell neatly inside a trash can. Then he and Top crept along the shadow of the tree line to get closer to the football stadium.

"I have been hiding for awhile now... It's not easy being a rogue robot, especially a wanted one. In exchange for keeping secrets or a place to hide, I've picked up odd jobs here and there, mostly in the company of women," Top Man continued shyly. "You gotta trust someone with your secrets…and when it comes to humans, I find women waaaay more trustworthy then men. But I'm not a creep. It's usually a security thing, like, 'Hey, my stalker ex-boyfriend is in town, come to the bar with me so he lays off' kinda thing. Anything they want, they're the boss. But I don't go home with them...unless that's part of the deal—but that's on their terms, and nothing happens, I swear."

Proto Man was beginning to get confused at Top Man's explanation of his prime function. "...What exactly is it you do?"

"I, uh, don't have a name for it."

"Forget it, I don't want to know."

They darted underneath the football bleachers, then waited for a group of students to pass by.

"You don't like it here, do you? Something about Light University really bothers you," whispered Top Man.

Proto Man ignored him.

Top Man correctly interpreted his silence as coldness. "Oh uh, sorry, wasn't trying to pry, heh heh," he said bracingly, "—It's just, you're a guy who can always keep his cool in high stress situations (which is why you're the worlds greatest robot) but something's got you a little stressed out. Your shoulders are tense and you keep clenching your right hand nervously. I noticed these things in people—humans, usually. Did anyone ever tell you that you are programmed with very human like mannerisms?"

"Stop looking at me, and mind your own business," Proto Man told him shortly, finding Top Man's constant chatter annoying. He peered out across the athletic fields, then up at Edison Hall, unconsciously clenching his right hand into a fist before realizing what he was doing and stopping himself. "Until we get to Light's mainframe computer and change the security protocols, we're boxed in by that force field generator. Once they figure out we're inside, they can trap us in here by putting the campus on lockdown."

"Right. So what do we do now?"

"Just lay low! We don't have the campus secured yet," replied Proto Man impatiently.

"Gotcha." Top Man stood back, whirled in place, taking on a human appearance again, then slipped off down the bleachers. To Top Man's credit, he was light on his feet and seemed adept at sneaking around—so at least the part of his history was true, even if his origins as a car salesman were a lie.

_That got rid of him,_ Proto Man thought, setting his eyes on the underground robot storage facility.

* * *

Mega Man was just heading back to the football field to kill some time watching the various athlete bots when he spotted Proto Man, Cut Man, and Guts Man sneaking across the running track between the student gym and the football bleachers.

_Wily's bots again!_

Checking first to make sure there were no students nearby, he ran toward the Bad Bots. "Hey Proto! What are you doing in school?" he called loudly.

Proto Man turned to face him, regarding with a soft smirk. "I came to teach you a lesson!"

They drew their plasma cannons. Mega Man fired first. Proto Man was ready and avoided it by jumping onto the facade of the student gym. he fired a high powered shot back, hitting Mega Man with enough force to send him flying backward onto the basketball court where Guts Man was waiting.

Guts Man uprooted one of the basketball nets by its poll, and began swinging it down at Mega Man like a giant flyswatter. As Mega Man was dodging, he heard a soft rustle of leaves from behind him as Snake Man leapt out of the trees. Mega Man staggered back as a barrage of _Search Snakes_ ambushed him. Two landed on his plasma cannon and began tearing viciously through the titanium casing.

"Mega needs my help!" called a voice.

It was the Kung Fu Bot from earlier. He backflipped across the basketball court, stopping in place in front of Guts Man and striking a pose. "Take heed, robot, I know karate!"

Guts Man turned away from Mega Man, promptly slamming Kung Fu Bot through the red polyurethane ground with the basketball hoop's backboard.

Mega Man noticed he was feeling dizzy, a tell-tale warning that he was low on plasma power. He kicked away the _Search Snakes _that were nipping at his heals, then crushed the two on his arm with his fist. Ducking underneath another flying _Search Snake, _Mega Man grabbed Snake Man by the tail of his helmet and flung him into the scoreboard. Then, crouching low to help steady himself, he leveled his blaster at Guts Man, who was looming over Kung Fu Bot.

"Drop him, Guts Man!" he ordered.

Something struck Mega Man hard in the back, nearly depleting his plasma reserves. He crumpled to the ground.

"It was a blast while it lasted, bro," he heard Proto Man call. "Lock him up."

Guts Man stooped over Mega Man and lifted from the ground by his shoulder. Mega Man's mind swam as Guts Man carried him off, swinging him back and forth like luggage. He didn't see what happened to the Kung Fu robot. A second later, Mega Man was thrown roughly onto the floor of a dark storage room for human gym equipment.

"We'd finish you off now, but we gotta lunch date," said Guts Man importantly. He slammed the door shut, cutting off all light to the room. There was a soft scrapping noise from outside as Guts Man wedged something against the door, jamming it.

Mega Man picked himself up, wincing slightly. _Gotta warn Roll! _he thought groggily.

He turned his blaster toward himself to use his communicator, then saw the _Search Snakes_ had done. There were deep gashes in his forearm. The communicator's wiring was frayed and sticking out, and the small audio receiver cracked beyond repair. Mega Man tried firing at the door, but the plasma cannon merely hissed, showering himself in a brief flash of sparks that illuminated the room and tingled painfully against his titanium skin.

"I'm not blasting out of here anytime soon…" he muttered to himself, dropping his sizzling arm to his side. "I've got to find what Wily's bots are up to, and fast!"

* * *

Roll had just finished Theory of Cybernetics and was walking briskly to her next class when someone caught her eye. With a bit of a pleasant start, she realized she recognized him. _Will Topman? What's he doing here?_

"Hey Toppy!" she called to him.

Will Topman turned at the sound of his name. "Roll!"

She hurried to catch up to him. "Still touring campus?"

"Yeah, a friend let me in."

"Hey Toppy!" a group of girls called. Will Topman looked in their direction and gave a small wave back.

Roll looked from Will Topman to the group of giggling girls suspiciously. He seemed popular. Maybe Mega Man was right about this. _You can't fall for a human, Roll, you're a robot! _

Had to know if there was any real connection worth pursuing, and there was only one way of doing it.

"Hey, Toppy…since you're on your own right now, maybe I can show you around?"

"Uh…" Will Topman glanced over his shoulder toward the athletic fields. "Okay."

She led him out of the sunlight into a shaded alcove behind Vaucanson Hall where a small perennial garden lay. Alone in this semi-enclosed space, she knew they could have a private conversation. She turned to him nervously. "So, like it on campus so far, Toppy?"

"It's Top Man...Look, there's something I need to tell you," he said. The smile from his face had vanished from his face and he was looked in earnest.

Uh oh. She had no idea that he was already that into her. She was flattered, but felt nervous and a little guilty. "There's something I need to tell you too."

Will Topman looked her directly in the eye, "Look, whatever you have to say isn't important."

"Wait, it is. I think you're a real nice guy, but I should be honest with you…"

"You don't have to be honest with me—"

"No, I should, because I don't want to lead you on…"

"You might want to know more about me before you say anything more—"

"I'd really like to hang out with you more, Toppy, but I gotta let you in on a little secret."

"...and you're not even listening to me, are ya?"

"You see, the truth is—"

"ROLL!"

Roll jerked in surprise.

Will Topman grimaced apologetically. "Heh heh, sorry for shouting, please...let me go first."

He stood back, and began spinning inhumanly fast. A fraction later, he slowed to the stop, but no longer was the same person as he had been before.

"What the…?" Roll stared at the orange Robot Master who had taken the place of Will Topman in shock. "Ugh! You're a robot!"

"So are you…" the robot pointed out.

_SMACK!_

He reeled backward from the blow. Roll stared at him in shock and indignation. Topman...Top Man. _Top Man. _"You're a freaking Robot Master?!" she shouted angrily.

"Tah-dah…" said Top Man feebly, still clutching his face.

Roll struck him again, then twisted his arm around behind his back and pushed him up against the wall.

"Ow, ow, ow...you're very strong!"

"So what are your _real_ intentions here at Light University, 'babe?'"

"Please don't kill me."

"Are you a spy? Did Dr. Wily order you to get close to me? Thought you'd just pull a pretty boy routine and the rest would be easy, huh?"

"No! Wily didn't say anything about you, it was just a coincidence—"

"Aha! So you _do_ work for Wily!" Roll twisted his arm harder. Top Man wasn't much larger than herself, nor was he any stronger, and therefore wasn't able to break free. "What was all that sweet talk from before for?"

"I only talked to you b-because I needed to copy your I.D., that's all!" Top Man said through gritted teeth.

"So you were sneaking around campus tricking students into thinking you were a human—_I _even thought you were human!"

"I thought you were human too—you even asked me out on a date," Top Man pointed out, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

Roll was irate at Top Man seemed to be implying and shoved him harder into the wall. "Are you trying to justify what you were doing?"

"No—I—Let's call it even? I had no intentions of hurting your feelings. And I don't blame you for being mad—"

"I'd be more worried about how many of your ribs I'm going to break! After you got what you wanted, how long were you going to keep up the act? Long enough to go out with me in New York, you creep?"

"I dunno, it'd have been rude to turn you down, so maybe once—just as friends! But then I found out who you were—It's not that I don't like you, I just don't _like you _like you, and even if I did _like you_ like you, your brother is _very protective of you_ and I don't want to die."

"Who, Mega?" Roll asked, surprised.

"No, Proto Man."

"He's not my brother!" Roll spat, annoyed. "And it's not his business to be protective of me, he's my enemy!"

"What? But he told me he was your brother—Don't hurt me!" said Top Man, flinching as Roll lifted her utility arm.

"You're pathetic!"

"You're not going to call the police, are you?"

"The police? Right now I'm trying to decide if I should start with the kneecaps or your spine!" Roll looked at him critically. "Why aren't you fighting back? Where's your blaster?"

"I don't have any, I'm unarmed," answered Top Man. "Besides, I don't fight women. It's not very gentlemanly."

"Don't give me that gentleman crap. Start talking."

"I would love to, but you're kinda crushing my windpipe against the bricks..."

Roll sighed, then reluctantly released Top Man, but pulled back the sleeve of her purple sweater as she drew a circular saw from her utility arm.

"No sudden moves," she warned.

"As you wish."

The continued chivalry, despite the fact that she was most likely going to take his head off…this robot was very un-Wily-ish. Top Man turned around slowly to face her, catching his breath. He looked briefly down at her utility arm, then up into her eyes.

"Who are you? Why did Wily send you here?" asked Roll.

"I'm Top Man, as I said. Wily sent me here to help him sneak past security. I'm a robot who can pass for human, even around other robots—which, up until I met you, I thought was a unique ability."

"That's your story?"

"Well, not all of it…" Top Man hesitated, glancing around, then said in a covert whisper, "I've got a lot of people after me…"

"Why? What have you done?"

"It's nothing I've done, it's what I am. I won't tell you more. You're a nice girl and it's my problem. It's bad enough that I'm telling you this much."

Roll gave a derisive snort. "Am I suppose to believe this?"

"...It's the truth."

"Please. You'd do anything to save yourself."

"_Almost _anything. I was a rogue robot, and I've been in hiding...that is, until I found Wily."

"Wily really didn't build you?" asked Roll, lowering her utility arm grudgingly.

"No."

Roll knew Dr. Wily frequently stole and reprogrammed robots to his side, and began to feel a little sympathy for his latest recruit. She could still see a bit of Will Topman behind the orange mask—no, not Will Topman, he had never existed, it was just Top Man, and after exposing his true identity, he seemed more vulnerable and ill at ease than he had been without his armor.

Top Man chuckled softly. "You know, being a robot who can pass as a human...I thought I was alone in the world. I didn't know there were others."

"I know how that feels..."

"Kinda funny this all happened, right?" said Top Man, smiling as he relaxed a little. "Sorry about the circumstances, but in a strange way, I'm really glad I met you, Roll. It gives me hope that maybe the future won't be so bad after all."

"...Really?"

"Yeah, we all need a little hope, right?"

His smile was a bit dazzling, so genuine, sincere, yet unassuming. Roll felt a warm flutter in her chest. Top Man might work for Wily, but no one had ever opened up so completely to her before. Maybe this was the chance Roll had been looking for after all, and decided to take a small risk.

"Mmpfh!"

Roll had leaned in in kissed him. It was the most pleasant romantic experience she had ever had, significantly more pleasant than kissing Gyro Man had been—at least, it might have been, but Top Man wasn't kissing her back.

He pulled gently away and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, that wasn't a moment, I'm really just not into you—Nothing personal!" he added hastily. "I'm not looking for any type of relationship with anyone right now. You wouldn't want to date me either, I'm bad luck. Find someone special who is worthy of your attention. And don't rush into it. Relationships take time…and can come from unexpected places."

Roll was beginning to get annoyed with Top Man. She _hated _being lectured. Who was _he _to tell _her _what to do? After all, didn't she just catch him red handed sweet talking to get innocent college students' I.D.'s?

Top Man was looking at her closely. "You're okay with that, right?"

Roll shook herself. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she said awkwardly.

"Good, I may be one of Wily's 'Bad Bots' now...but I'd hate to let you down over a little misunderstanding during one of Wily's missions."

"Wait, I'll take you to see Dr. Light. He can help you. You don't have to work for Wily."

Top Man chuckled sadly. "No he can't, and I _chose _to work for Wily."

"...What?" questioned Roll, her voice lowering dangerously.

"It's my only option. Thanks for offering to help out though, it means a lot to me," Top Man said, edging away.

This action did not go unnoticed by Roll. "Waitaminute, you're trying to trick me again!"

"I'm not trying to trick you—"

"Your _real_ mission is to get me alone so you could kidnap me! I can't believe I'm being kidnapped by a Wily-bot again!"

"Whoa wait, I am not, nor did I have any intention, of kidnapping you—"

"That's your special ability, isn't it? You had some sort of scrambling power that's screwing with my emotion circuits, trying to make me feel sorry for you!"

"What? I don't have any scrambling powers, I'm just nice, good looking guy!"

"Not after I crush your face! You know what I do to sleezebags like you?"

"I really, really don't want to find out—"

Roll fired the projectile saw. Top Man's eyes widened in shock, but in a flash had dropped underneath the blade in a surprisingly lithe evasion. He gave a sharp exhale of breath as the blade thunked with a quiver into the brick wall above him.

"Um, I'm going to leave now…"

He ducked underneath behind a viburnum bush and vanished around the corner of the building before she could fire another shot.

"Coward!" Roll shouted after him, fuming. _Damn, he's fast! _Then the gravity of the situation caught up to her.

"Wily's robots are on campus! Then Mega's in trouble!"

* * *

Mega Man was busy combing over the storage room for means of escape when he heard footsteps outside.

"Mega?"

"Here!" he called, darting over to the door. "Is that you, Roll?"

"Yeah. Hang on, I'll get you out—"

He heard a sharp metallic squeak as Roll used a crowbar to pry off the dumbell rod Guts Man had wedged in the door, which fell with a clang to the ground. She kicked the door open.

"I knew something bad had happened when you weren't answering your communicator—but luckily I found Rush, he lead me here," said Roll, stepping inside.

"My blaster's down. Look, I know this is a lot to ask, but I need your help stopping Wily's robots...It may risk exposing yourself as a robot and giving up classes here—"

"You kidding? I'm ready to rip apart Wily's creeps," Roll said with unexpected vehemence. She tugged off her purple sweater and tossed it into a corner of the room, revealing that she had been wearing her yellow and red titanium jumpsuit underneath it all along.

"Alright then," Mega Man said, nonplussed.

* * *

After locking up, Proto Man, Cut Man, Guts Man, and Snake Man had broken into the underground robot storage facility and reprogrammed the athletics robots with the Reprogramming Raygun.

"Proto to Wily, mission accomplished," said Proto Man into his communicator as he walked through the ranks of tackle-bots.

Dr. Wily didn't answer Proto Man. Instead, his image appeared on a hanging television above the tackle-bots heads. "Attention all robots, you will obey only Dr. Wily," he commanded.

A murmur of submission rippled through the reprogrammed robots as they turned toward the monitor. Behind them, a double door burst open as Mega Man, Roll, and Rush came crashing in. "Not all of them!"

Dr. Wily growled. "Not that blue dweeb again! Studen- bots, your first homework assignment is DESTROY MEGA MAN!"

Proto Man drew a blaster. "Since you're out of plasma, Mega, I'd be glad to give you some of mine..."

He fired at Mega Man, forcing him to dodge out into the center of the room.

"That's fighting dirty! I'll even up the odds for you, Mega!" said Roll, drawing her toaster cannon from her utility arm. She fired back in a giant, blazing blast. Proto Man and Snake Man scattered away in time, but Cut Man and Guts Man were both hit and sent flying across the room along with half of the baseball-bots to crash into a heap among the tennis equipment.

"Nice bolster from the toaster roaster," said Mega Man, giving her a thumbs up.

"I told you I'm not calling it that!"

"Why? It's great."

Rush was snarling madly as he bit and snapped at the basketball-bots. Snake Man had his blaster trained on Roll, but for some reason, had not fired. Roll took advantage of the opening and fired a rotary saw at him, clipping him across the shoulder as he tumbled out of the way. She ducked underneath a _Rolling Cutter _from a disheveled but recovering Cut Man and was about to return fire when a rock climbing robot snuck up from behind and snagged her utility arm with its climbing rope.

_"Hey!"_

Mega Man started toward Roll to help out when a wall of tackle-bots suddenly engulfed him, steamrolling him to the floor. He felt a flurry of heavy boots kicking him from all sides. Thoroughly battered, Mega Man fought his way out of the assault and back into the open.

Proto Man fired Mega Man in the chest, knocking him back against the wall. Mega Man fell to the ground as the tackle-bots closed in around him.

"You put up a good fight, Mega," said Proto Man, reforming his blaster back into a hand. "But not good enough."

From across the room, Roll gave an angry shout as Guts Man grabbed her and Rush.

Mega Man tried to stand back up, but his energy reserves were nearly depleted and his joints refused to respond without some sort of recharge. He glared up at Dr. Wily's face on the hanging television. "I'll bust you Wily! It's just a matter of time…"

Dr. Wily peered down at him, his beady blue eyes gleaming viciously. "'Tiiiime?' Oooh, I'm afraid you have very little of that left, Mega Man!"

* * *

After tying them up with steel cables, Guts Man and Cut Man dragged Mega Man, Roll, and Rush to the basement of the building where a large mechanical structure that controlled the buildings's clock tower was kept. Guts Man tore off the safety casing that usually covered the slow moving gears, then lashed Mega Man and Roll to their toothy surfaces and left them there. Though the windmill-sized gears moved slowly, they came together with a force that would easily crush both Mega Man's and Roll's titanium skeletons.

"This isn't good...campus isn't gong to be the same now that Dr. Wily is reprogramming the robots," said Mega Man.

Roll was busy seething about something else. "I'm going to get even with that two timing Top Man for tampering with my emotion circuits!"

"Who?" asked Mega Man, slightly distracted as he attempted to wriggle free. The gear underneath him had rotated several inches as the clock above marked another minute. At least Dr. Wily's idea of a deathtrap allowed them some time for escape.

"That guy I told you about earlier."

He glanced sharply over at Roll. "...his name is 'Top Man?'"

"Yeah, he's a Robot Master."

"Wait, I thought you told me he was human."

"I thought he was, but he's actually a Wily-bot! Ugh, a robot pretending to be human, what a creep!"

Mega Man mentally sighed. _I bet this Top Man character had something to do with how the Bad Bots got back in, _he thought wryly, but didn't dare say anything out loud. "Nevermind—we won't have any circuits if we don't figure a way out of this jam!" He gritted his teeth as he looked up into the teeth of the massive gear above him, slowly rotating closer. "Too bad my blaster's busted, it only short circuits...Hey, that's it!"

Mega Man fired. A sharp shock rent up his arm, but the crackling plasma cut through the steel cables. With a snap, his bindings loosened and he was able to slide to the floor to free Roll and Rush.

"Now that's being rescued in the nick of time!" quipped Roll.

Mega Man's head was beginning to spin from fatigue again, but he shook it off and put his mind on stopping Dr. Wily. "Right, now let's go arrest your latest ex."

Roll stuck out her tongue at him.

* * *

Proto Man joined the other robots in Edison Hall. So good so far. Mega Man was out of the way, and Snake Man, Cut Man, and Guts Man had finished reprogramming the rest of the students' robots. They could walk freely around campus without drawing suspicion, and were putting the school on silent lockdown by corralling students and staff together in the classrooms that had been soundproofed for study. All Proto Man had left to do was break into Dr. Light's classroom and use his computer to get control of the forcefield.

Ring Man and Magnet Man sidled into the lobby as Snake Man, Cut Man, and Guts Man fanned out to secure the first floor.

"Where have you guys been?" asked Proto Man.

"Uh, not saying I'm proud of this, but we've been breaking into peoples' cars," admitted Ring Man. "A lot of the students here come from loaded families. Just finished loading up the jet...let me know if you want keys to a yellow 1996 aerohead convertible. So, can we leave yet?"

"We're not here for human junk. Magnet Man, go jam all the other entrances into this building."

"Uh…" said Magnet Man, reluctant to be put to work.

"Just do it. Mega Man and Roll are out of the way. I'm going after Light and I don't want any company," said Proto Man, turning toward a staircase.

Top Man followed him.

"What happened to your brother and sister?" he asked curiously as they climbed.

"Tied them to the gear system in that old fashion clock tower they have in the center of campus. They won't be bothering us anytime soon."

Top Man looked shocked. "Y-you killed them?"

"Nah, they probably escaped after we left. They usually do." Proto Man looked sharply at Top Man. "...Why? You don't have feelings for Roll, do you?"

"Absolutely not," Top Man replied quickly, recovering. "Ended that just like you said, told her I was a Bad Bot, and now she wants to feed my circuits to a goat."

They had reached the top floor. Proto Man turned sharply to face Top Man, blocking the door.

"Great. By the way, you're done here. Bye."

Top Man looked taken aback. "Wait, what? What do you mean I'm done? Didn't I do a good job?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't like your job was breaking into Fort Knox...and you don't have a weapon. That's kinda a requirement to be in Wily's army."

"You can't let me go, I know too much!" Top Man cried desperately.

"You don't know anything."

"I could tell everyone what I do know."

"Then we'll find you and kill you."

Top Man opened his mouth wordlessly, clearly searching for another protest.

"You're not going to make this hard, are ya?" asked Proto Man, drawing a blaster.

"I, uh…" stammered Top Man, backing away.

"I didn't like you from the start," said Proto Man. "I can tell you're trouble."

Top Man gulped but held his ground. "Proto Man, please…I won't last another week out there…"

"Why? I know you're not a killer, you're too..._soft. _So why are you so afraid of the cops? It's not like they'll dismantle you, you'll get captured and reprogrammed into a steward or _real _car salesman or any other domestic robot. That's gotta be better than whatever it is you've been doing up until now."

Top Man didn't answer. He didn't have much of a poker face, and Proto Man could read plainly that whatever Top Man was running away from was truly terrible, and that any of the alternatives Proto Man had just suggested weren't really an option.

He sighed. "I get it, you need somewhere safe to hide out. But it's not my problem. If you're still here when I leave Light's classroom, I'm blasting you, got it?"

He left Top Man trembling on the stairs. It was pitiful, but Proto Man was not moved. Top Man had, after all, hit on Roll.

* * *

Dr. Light sat alone in his classroom, busy compiling notes and putting them into a presentation on his computer.

"First, I'll explain to the students my theory of reverse gravity vectors. And then, I'll show them how to build my antigravity machine," he murmured happily to himself. He looked up as he heard footsteps outside the door. "Early for class...that's the sign of a dedicated student." Proto Man stepped through the door, and Dr. Light froze. "What's this all about?"

The large overhead monitor hanging in front of the classroom hissed to life, and Dr. Wily appeared on its screen. "Simple, Dr. Light. I'm taking over your classroom so that your students can build your antigravity device, _for me." _

Proto Man leaned against the doorframe, letting Dr. Wily talk, regarding Dr. Light detachedly.

"No! You mustn't do that!" Dr. Light shouted angrily at the screen, standing up.

"Ooooh, but I have to! How else can I rip City Hall off its foundations and float it away?" jeered Dr. Wily. "Put him in storage," he told Proto Man as he ended the transmission.

Dr. Light glared from the blank monitor to Proto Man. Deciding to keep this as brief and painless as possible, Proto Man strode confidently across the room. "Sorry to crash your first class...nothing personal, this is just business as—"

But Proto Man didn't finish. Without a word, Dr. Light had whipped out a gun from his desk and fired point-blank at Proto Man's chest just as Proto Man had closed in on him. A basketball-sized sphere of energy phased into Proto Man and began to crackle through all his circuits.

Proto Man stared at the gun in shock. It had never occurred to him that Dr. Light would pull a weapon on him, it was too against his nature. Internally he could feel his motor functions slow to a stall, then crash, one by one, and his legs gave out from underneath him. Dr. Light caught him before he fell, then lowered him gently down on his back.

Proto Man trembled on the tiled floor as the rest of his systems crashed. "When I said you needed to let go of the past, this isn't what I had in mind…" he mumbled blearily as he completely powered down, his arms falling slack and his head rolling to the side.

Dr. Light took his jacket from his chair, rolled it into a cushion, and placed in underneath Proto Man's head. He was just about to call Mega Man when the door to his classroom door flew back open, as Snake Man rushed inside, followed by Guts Man, Cut Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man.

Dr. Light fired at Snake Man, but he had a shaky hand and poor aim, and missed Snake Man completely. Snake Man returned fire, knocking the gun out of Dr. Light's hand and sending it skidding out of reach. Two _Search Snakes_ slithered across the floor and clasped onto Dr. Light's loafers like shackles.

"Ssssurrender, Light," Snake Man said scathingly, leveling his blaster with Dr. Light's heart.

Dr. Light held up his hands in surrender, but squinted at Snake Man with a bit of perplexity. "I beg your pardon, what did you say?"

Snake Man sighed then made a motion for Dr. Light not to move.

Ring Man and Magnet Man spotted Proto Man lying on the floor beside Dr. Light's desk and darted over to his side. Magnet Man looked over at Ring Man and shook his head, but Ring Man squatted down next to Proto Man's prone body, punching Proto Man in the jaw. "Wake up, damn it."

Proto Man did not respond.

"He's dead?" asked Guts Man as he and Cut Man gathered around them.

"Wily will kill us for letting Proto Man die!" whined Cut Man, panicking.

"He's not dead, he was shot with a pulsar pulse gun—look," said Ring Man, pointing at gun that lay underneath a filing cabinet. "Shit. I can't get him back online. We need Wily."

Top Man had edged into the room after Magnet Man and Ring Man. "What's going on? What happened to him?" he asked anxiously, standing on tip toe to look over Guts Man's shoulder. "I heard a commotion and I, uh, thought I'd make sure everything was okay…"

"Proto Man's down, Light shot him with a pulsar laser blast," answered Ring Man. "He won't power back on."

Snake Man glared at Proto Man coldly. "Leave him. Our priority isss Dr. Wily'sss misssssion. Take Light away and plassse him into sssstorage assss Dr. Wily commanded."

"Uh, what?" asked Ring Man, looking up at Snake Man.

"He said he wants us to put Light in storage," said Cut Man unexpectedly. He had been squinting at Snake Man with intense concentration, as though straining to hear what he said. Snake Man gave him a curt nod.

"You're coming with me, Light!" said Guts Man, lifting Dr. Light off the floor from the lapels of his jacket. Dr. Light didn't struggle, but his eyes lingered on Proto Man as he was hauled from the room.

Snake Man turned toward Cut Man with a bit of new found appreciation that at least one of the Robot Masters could understand him past the lisp.

"Gather the ssstudentsss. Dr. Wily hasss work for them."

* * *

Dr. Wily was not happy that Proto Man had been incapacitated by Dr. Light, but even less happy with the students he was forcing to build the antigravity machine.

"Work, work, work my dedicated students! I have a deadline!" he growled.

Cut Man and Guts Man were prowling through the students like circling hawks while Snake Man oversaw the operations from underneath the hanging monitor Dr. Wily was broadcasting from. Ring Man and Magnet Man could care less about the students or the antigravity machine, and were far more content with the virtually effortless job of watching over Proto Man while playing _Street Fighter_ on stolen Gameboys. Top Man joined them, but was clearly nervous about something and determinedly trying not attract attention to himself. Snake Man gave him frequent cold stares, as though suspicious of him.

As the students began construction following Dr. Light's lesson plan, Dr. Wily was busy criticizing some the some of the students' plans for prototype robots with obvious disgust.

"What is this robot?" demanded Dr. Wily, displaying the plans for a robot with a goofy painted face and many thin, noodle like appendages. "Some kind of torture device, I hope?"

"It's...suppose to be a pediatrician robot, sir. It nurtures sick children," spoke up the inventor timidly.

"That is the most worthless invention I've ever heard of! Where are the laser guns? The all terrain treads? How is it suppose to subjugate mankind without heat-seeking missiles, hmmm?"

"...It's not suppose to, sir."

"And what of this robot?" asked Dr. Wily, displaying a barrel-shaped robot with a rainbow, LED dome.

"We call that the party-bot," answered one of the other students proudly.

"Hahahaha, score," said his buddy, giving him a high-five.

"Can it subjugate mankind?"

"No, but he can drink an entire keg in ten seconds."

"And what is the point of this inane invention?"

The student shrugged a shoulder.

"You all make me sick," spat Dr. Wily. "How could Tom allow such simpletons into his university? If this had been _my_ university, I would flunk you all and build robots to take your place."

"If only we were so lucky," murmured a girl with thick, plastic-framed glasses.

"Man, this is bullshit...I signed up to take classes with Tom Light, not his rejected mad scientist lab assistant," another student muttered back to her.

"I heard that!" Dr. Wily yelled shrilly. "I was only Light's _temporary _lab assistant! And it was I who rejected him because his ego was in the way of my scientific brilliance! Just for that little comment, I'm taking away all bathroom privileges!"

The student rolled his eyes.

In the back of the classroom, Ramón had been busy surreptitiously positioning himself closer to the exit while Cut Man and Guts Man were distracted reprimanding students for not working hard enough or mimicking Dr. Wily's accent while assembling the giant antigravity machine. At his first opportunity, Ramón slipped out the door and ran as quietly as he could down the stairs.

* * *

Roll and Mega Man had crept out of the clock tower basement and back onto the campus grounds. "Where are the Bad Bots now?" asked Roll as they ducked into the woods.

"My bet is on Edison Hall," answered Mega Man as they hid behind a broad tree trunk. "They'd want to take control of the forcefield from Dr. Light's computer."

"Gotcha, so we're heading there?"

Mega Man sighed. "No, they'll have already done that by now...Dr. Light's in danger. We gotta find him first. Keep your eyes peeled for Wily's bots."

"Pssst. Tackle-bots behind you!" said a voice from behind a hedge of juniper bushes.

Mega Man, Roll and Rush ducked as a patrol of tackle-bots passed by. Mega Man looked back into the bushes.

"Ramón?" he queried after the tackle-bots had passed by.

Ramón was crouching underneath a bush. He gave them a small wave.

"This place is crawling with Wily's reprogrammed student bots!" Mega Man commented, squatting next to Ramón.

"Yeah. I just escaped from Edison Hall," said Ramon. "Dr. Wily's forcing all the students to work together on an antigravity machine."

"Wily took over Dr. Light's class? How generous of him. Not how you imagined you'd be spending your first day of college, huh?" said Mega Man wryly. He leaned back wearily on the trunk of a tree.

"Here, I pocketed this," said Ramón, tossing Mega Man an energy can from his messenger bag. "I swiped it _after _Wily's robots showed up," he added hastily.

"Good thinking, I'm running on fumes," said Mega Man as he popped the energy can's tab. "So Wily has control of all students' robots now?"

"Not all of them." Ramón gestured behind them further into the underbrush, where for the first time Mega Man noticed a "For some reason, Wily didn't want any of the cheerbots."

"When he found out my only 'weapon' is a paintbrush, he said I was useless and that red robot agreed with him," spoke up the Painter Bot with a disdainful sniff. "The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

The Kung Fu Bot dropped down from a tree. "I was able to conceal myself from his robots because I know nijitsu!"

Roll looked like she was about to explode.

"What's the plan, Mega? Frontal assault? A surprise attack?" asked Kung Fu Bot eagerly.

"Neither," answered Mega Man. "First I gotta get my blaster fixed, and only Doc can do that."

"But who knows what Wily's done with him by now," said Roll.

Mega Man turned toward Rush. "We need your super sniffer, Rush!"

Rush lead them in a serpentine path through campus, carefully avoiding reprogrammed drones, until they reached a small cement utility shed. Mega Man kicked down the door. Dr. Light was huddled alone in the darkness at the back of the shed, bound and gagged.

"Sorry I didn't knock first, Doc," said Mega Man with a rueful smile.

After untying Dr. Light, they gathered inside the utility shed while Dr. Light worked on Mega Man's blaster.

"The damage was extensive, Mega…" Dr. Light said finally, closing the access panel on Mega Man's forearm, "—But this repair should keep your blaster operational temporarily."

"Thanks, Doc. I'm gunna need it to take back your antigravity machine."

"Oh you must, Mega. Wily's planning on using it to raise City Hall."

"We should get going then," said Roll. "Thanks for the help, Ramón. You better stay here with Dr. Light while we go after the Bad Bots."

"Go get 'em, Roll!" Ramón cheered as Roll and the other robots headed out of the utility shed.

Dr. Light caught Mega Man's arm as he was about to follow them.

"I've already taken care of Proto Man. He's powered down in my classroom," said Dr. Light in a low, meaningful voice.

"Oh." Mega Man hesitated. "He's not going to be too happy when he wakes up."

"I doubt he will be...but Mega Man, you must bring him in. If we are ever to defeat Wily for good, then we can't allow Proto to escape again. He's Wily's greatest advantage."

"I understand that," said Mega Man, turning to leave. Privately, he felt unhappy by this news. Though Proto Man had proven himself to be staunchly loyal to Dr. Wily, Mega Man was still hoping he'd eventually come around as the Proto Man from the alternate future had. He was not optimistic that forcing present day Proto Man to give up his allegiance would do any good.

* * *

Carefully avoiding the campus security drones, Mega Man, Roll and the other robots were able to sneak into another wooded area outside Edison Hall. "More tackle-bots!" whispered Mega Man, pointing out the guards stationed around the building's only remaining entrance. "If I try to take them out, they might get a chance to warn the others. We need a diversion."

"Leave that to us," said Roll. "You're on first, cheerbot!"

One of the cheerbots backflipped out of the woods to face a pair of tackle-bots. "Rah rah rah, sis boom bah, you're a bunch of bot brains hahaha," she chanted in a nasally voice. Then she fired the yellow pom-poms she had for hands into the faces of the takle-bots.

"It's one of them bots we've been looking for," said one of the guards. They immediately gave chase.

"The tackle-bots don't have good depth perception, it's a major flaw in their sensory systems," Roll informed Mega Man as the cheerbot lead the tackle-bots around the building to a portion of the wall that the Painter Bot had painted a rather good likeness of Mega Man upon (which the Painter Bot had deemed uninspired, pandering, and tastelessly commercial). "Ramón told me."

"If this plan works…" Mega Man muttered to himself.

Sure enough, the tackle-bots stopped short when they came across the mural. "Forget the cheerbot, there's Mega Man!"

The tackle-bots raised their blaster arms and fired into the wall, blasting the painting apart. They took a closer look at the wreckage, their eyes screwing up as though they were having great difficulty.

"Uhhh...it was just a drawing. Someone tricked us!" one of them proclaimed finally.

"Yeah, we did!" crowed the Kung Fu Bot, swooping out of the shadows. He clocked one of the tackle-bots over the head with trash can, then kicked the other with a grandiose round-house kick.

While the tackle-bots were sufficiently distracted, Mega Man decided to make a break for the entrance. "I'm going in, you keep watch over everyone out here," he told Roll. "...And try not to wreck up the students' robots too much."

"No guarantees," said Roll, a chainsaw unfolding from her utility arm.

* * *

"Sssnake Man to Dr. Wily, the antigravity machine isss complete. What's isss your nexssst order?"

Snake Man was contacting Dr. Wily through the overhead monitor. Behind him, the disgruntled humans were huddled tensely on the floor next to a tall, conical machine plated in gleaming silver steel.

"I'm on my way to pick it up," Dr. Wily answered, smiling broadly. "When I give the word, disengage the force field. Mwhahahha. I can't wait to see the Mayor's face when I steal City Hall right out from under his nose."

_POW!_

A burst of plasma exploded against Snake Man's back, blasting him through the monitor, which crumbled to the floor in a shower of sparks as Mega Man came running into the room. "You'll have to deal with me first, Wily!"

He turned toward the captive students gathered around the gravity machine. "Get out of here!" he called. They hastily obliged, dropping their work tools to stream out the door as one.

Cut Man looked at a loss for what to do as the students escaped. "….Hey!" he yelled finally.

Mega Man grinned at him. "Hey Cut Man and Guts Man, by the way—you two really ought to tell Wily to switch up his usual line-up—By now I know all your tricks and can beat you while sleep walking."

"Why you little punk, I'll show you!" bellowed Guts Man, shaking a giant fist.

* * *

"I still can't wake Proto Man up! Shit, and Mega Man's here..." murmured Ring Man as he, Magnet Man, and Top Man observed the fight from across the classroom. He bolted to his feet as Cut Man fell. "Yeah, we're boned."

"Word," agreed Magnet Man.

Magnet Man and Ring Man backed away from Proto Man.

"Wait, shouldn't we help?" asked Top Man.

"And get caught too? Magnet Man and I are splitting, you should come too," said Ring Man as Magnet Man opened a back window with _Manet Hold_. "C'mon, before Mega Man locks us in."

Top Man shook his head fervently. "I can't go back out on the streets."

"Sure you can, what's the big deal? You're a cool bot, we'll look out for you."

"You don't understand…"

"We would if you filled us in…" said Ring Man, raising a brow. "You haven't been around Wily enough, but trust me, working for him blows. Besides, you said Proto Man was trying to kick you out anyway."

Top Man glanced nervously at the fight. Mega Man had just blasted Guts Man across the room.

"Last chance," said Magnet Man.

"C'mon, man," urged Ring Man.

But Top Man was already steeling himself up to fight.

* * *

"You can't shut me down that easy, Gutsy!" Mega Man taunted as Guts Man crashed into a computer bank. He looked up at the completed antigravity machine, somewhat impressed by what the students had accomplished, albeit under the strict dictatorship of Dr. Wily. "Now to haul this baby out of here..."

An unfamiliar Robot Master suddenly skidded out from behind the antigravity machine. Mega Man held his fire, looking critically over the robot in the tight orange and black titanium suit and bulbous helmet. _I'm never going to understand Roll's tastes._

"You must be Top Man—"

He was cut off as Top Man pressed the largest and most conspicuous button on the antigravity machine's side. A red beam shoots out from the generator on top, enveloping Meg Man. His stomach lurched as his feet slipped away from the floor. He was weightless. The beam sputtered, then suddenly Mega Man was jerked upward, the classroom falling underneath him as he crashed through the ceiling, hurtling upward as if falling into the sky—until he crashed with enough velocity to push him half way through the underside of the force field. For a brief moment, his vision went white from pain, then he powered down out instantly.

* * *

The Robot Masters all winced as Mega Man hit the force field with a sickening crackle then fell with a crunch into a grove of elm trees on the edge of campus.

"Shit, you got Mega Man!" said Ring Man to Top Man, looking impressed.

Top Man was shaking. He backed away from the antigravity machine. "I—I didn't mean to do that," he stammered.

"Forget about it, you got Mega Man!" Ring Man crowed again.

Cut Man's communicator began beeping as he picked himself off the floor with a wince.

"I'm coming down in the Skullker! Shut off the forcefield, Cut Man," crackled Dr. Wily's voice.

"Yes, Dr. Wily."

Cut Man darted over the classroom's mainframe computer, using Dr. Light's card to override the campus's security protocols. Outside, the forcefield dissipated. Then he opened the canopy exit in the classroom's roof. The Skullker descended smoothly inside, landing with a bump next to the antigravity machine.

Dr. Wily leapt out of the Skullker and strode briskly over to Proto Man, rolled him over, and opened an access panel on his back to access his power generator. After a moment, Proto Man's systems began to boot up again with a soft whine.

Proto Man woke suddenly with a jerk. "He shot me!" he snapped indignantly, sitting up. Then he paused, looking around. "What happened?"

"You were shot by a pulsar laser gun," said Cut Man promptly.

"Yeah, no kidding, my head is killing me…So we lost again?" he asked, pushing himself up off the floor using Dr. Light's desk.

"Give your systems a chance to reboot," Dr. Wily ordered in exasperation.

Proto Man ignored him. "Where's Mega Man?"

"Top Man got 'im," said Guts Man.

"Yeah, Top Man saved our asses. Your's too," Ring Man added pointedly. He did not add that he and Magnet Man had been about to abandon them. "He used the antigravity machine to blast Mega Man into the forcefield."

Proto Man looked up, noticing the Mega Man-sized hole blasted in the roof.

Dr. Wily's lip curled. "Awww, tch tch, what a shame, Mega Man terminated…._buuut, _it was for a good cause: he proved that the antigravity machine works, and now there's no one to stop me from using it! Mwhahahah! Guts Man! Load my antigravity machine into the Skullker. Then, you and the other Robot Masters will remain here. Once I leave, I want Light University to be locked down. No one leaves...I can't risk anyone spoiling my plans now that I'm so close..." Dr. Wily turned to Top Man. "Well done, Top Man. You have proven yourself as a valuable asset to my team. Defeating Mega Man is a task few of my robots have managed to accomplish...I will have _much _more work for you in the future."

"Absolutely, your will is my command," Top Man replied, inclining his head toward Dr. Wily respectfully. He looked over at Proto Man and gave a hesitant smile, which faltered quickly as Proto Man frowned back, annoyed.

Proto Man stalked off toward the Skullker with Dr. Wily. He had just tried kicking this Robot Master out of the Bad Bots, but Top Man had not only saved them all, he had saved the mission _and _taken out Mega Man—with dumb luck, but the damage was done: he had won Dr. Wily's approval. There would be no getting rid of him now.

**_To be continued…_**

* * *

A/N Mega Man sure gets his butt whooped a lot in this episode.


End file.
